ENGLAND  AND  THE  ENGLISHMAN 
IN  GERMAN  LITERATURE  OF  THE 
an'^a  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 

87- B 
23353 


m 


BY 


JOHN  ALEXANDER  KELLY,  Ph.D. 

SOMETIME  CARL  SCHURZ   FELLOW  IN  THE  GERMAN  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


IRCW  l^OCK 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
1921 

rights  reserved 


ENGLAND  AND  THE  ENGLISHMAN  IN 
GERMAN  LITERATURE  OF  THE 
EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
SALES  AGENTS 

NEW  YORK 

LEMCKE  &  BUECHNER 
30-32  East  2oth  Street 

LONDON 

HUMPHREY  MILFORD 
Amen  Corner,  E.G. 

SHANGHAI 

EDWARD  EVANS  &  SONS,  Ltd. 
30  North  Szechuen  Road 


ENGLAND  AND  THE  ENGLISHMAN 
IN  GERMAN  LITERATURE  OF  THE 
EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 


BY 

JOHN  ALEXANDER  KELLY,  Ph.D. 

SOMETIME  CARL  SCHURZ  FELLOW  IN  THE  GERMAN  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


mew  lorft 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
1921 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1921 
By  Columbia  University  Press 

Printed  from  type,  March,  1921 


TO 

The  Memory 

OF 

CALVIN  THOMAS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/englandenglishmaOOkell 


PREFACE 


The  investigation  of  which  the  most  significant  results  are 
presented  in  this  monograph  was  suggested  to  me  in  1 917  by 
the  late  Professor  Calvin  Thomas,  of  Columbia  University. 
Under  his  able  and  stimulating  guidance  I  started  to  work  in 
January  1919,  but  at  the  time  of  his  sudden  death  in  Novem- 
ber of  that  year  my  task  was  still  far  from  completion.  To 
Professor  Arthur  F.  J.  Remy  I  am  indebted  for  many  hours 
which  he  gave  to  a  helpful,  co,nstr active  criticism  of  the 
manuscript  in  its  hrouillon  stages,  but  it  is  perhaps  to  Profes- 
sor Robert  Herndon  Fife  that  I  am  most  indebted,  especially 
since  the  beginning  of  his  interest  and  participation  in  my 
work  antedated  by  several  months  his  official  connection  with 
Columbia  University.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  record  here,  further- 
more, my  gratitude  to  Professor  Frederick  W.  J.  Heuser,  who 
gave  me  many  valuable  suggestions,  and  to  Professor  Arthur 
George  Williams,  of  William  and  Mary  College,  and  Professor 
William  Harrison  Faulkner,  of  the  University  of  Virginia, 
both  of  whom  have  given  me  much  help  and  encouragement 
throughout  a  number  of  years  of  Germanic  study. 

Of  the  librarians  who  did  much  to  aid  me,  I  am  under 
especial  obligations  to  Mr.  Frederick  W.  Erb,  of  the  Columbia 
University  Library,  Mr.  Frederick  W.  Ashley,  of  the  Library 
of  Congress,  and  Mr.  William  Warner  Bishop,  librarian  of  the 
University  of  Michigan.  My  thanks  are  due  also  to  Professor 
Fife  and  my  colleague,  Mr.  James  McFadden  Carpenter,  Jr., 
of  Haverford  College,  for  assistance  in  reading  the  proof. 

John  Alexander  Kelly 

Haverford,  Pennsylvania 
January,  192 1 


vii 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Introduction   xi 

I.  Physical  Characteristics  of  England   i 

First  Impressions — Scenery — Transportation  and  Roads — Inns 
— London. 

II.  Politics  and  Religion   13 

Laws — Courts  of  Justice — The  Clergy — Religious  Sects. 

III.  Economic  Conditions   24 

Industry  and  Commerce — ^Love  of  Money — Luxury. 

IV.  English  Culture   31 

Fine  Arts  (Painting,  Sculpture,  Music,  Architecture,  Land- 
scape Gardening) — Literature — Education — State  of  Learning. 

V.  Customs  and  Manners   56 

Personal  Appearance  —  Amusements  —  Home  Life  —  Provin- 
cialism. 

VI.  The  British  Character   81 

General  Characteristics — Political  Liberty  and  Democracy — 
Patriotism — Pride — Unsociable  Nature — Generosity — Kindness 
—  Honesty  —  Frankness  —  Credulity  —  Intelligence  —  Personal 
Culture — Oddities — Melancholy — Suicide. 

VII.  Individual  British  Types   120 

The  Youth — The  Soldier  and  the  Sailor — The  Nobleman— 
The  Commoner — The  Englishwoman — The  Welshman — The 
Scotchman — The  Irishman. 

Conclusion.   144 

Bibliography   152 


ix 


INTRODUCTION 


There  is  no  scarcity  of  information  as  to  what  Germans 
and  Englishmen  think  of  each  other  in  modern  times,  and  it 
may  be  reasonably  expected  that  a  great  deal  more  literature 
on  that  subject  will  be  forthcoming.  On  this  very  account 
especial  interest  centers  around  the  attitude  of  the  two 
countries  toward  each  other  at  the  time  when  an  intimate — 
though  somewhat  one-sided — acquaintance  was  first  estab- 
lished; that  is,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  especially  in  the 
last  third  of  it.  Particular  value  attaches  to  the  impressions 
which  one  of  the  nations  received  of  the  other  at  that  time, 
since  these  impressions  were  almost  totally  unaffected  by 
anything  like  a  political  bias. 

The  object  of  the  present  investigation  is  to  learn  what  the 
eighteenth-century  German  thought  of  the  Britisher.  Inci- 
dentally, some  light  will  be  thrown  on  English  opinion  of 
Germany  and  the  Germans,  in  so  far  as  it  is  obtainable  from 
the  German  sources  consulted. 

The  points  of  contact  between  Germany  and  England  were 
numerous.  Beginning  with  the  year  1714,  the  two  countries 
were  brought  into  political  affiliation  through  the  house  of 
Hanover.  Northern  Germany  was  bound  to  England  by 
strong  economic  ties,  and  Hamburg  in  particular  became  the 
gateway  of  English  Kulhir  into  Germany.  Naturally  enough 
this  interest  in  things  English  found  abundant  and  far-reaching 
expression  in  the  German  literature  of  the  period ;  almost  any 
German  writer  of  the  century  is,  in  fact,  a  possible  source  of 
information  as  to  German  opinion  on  England.  Since  it 
would  be  impossible  to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of  all 
these  sources,  the  first  problem  that  arises  is  one  of  boundaries 
for  the  field  of  research.  It  is  obvious  that  those  Germans 
who  visited  England  were  best  qualified  to  discuss  English 
life  and  culture,  and  their  writings  were  undoubtedly  of  the 
greatest  importance  in  moulding  German  opinion.  Accord- 

xi 


xii 


ingly,  the  term  literature  is  taken  in  its  broadest  sense,  and 
books  of  travel,  though  ordinarily  of  very  slight  literary  merit, 
prove  for  our  purposes  to  be  of  the  greatest  value.  Of  these 
the  most  important  were  obtainable  either  in  the  original  or 
in  English  translations;  for  those  that  were  not  obtainable, 
the  exhaustive  book  reviews,  notably  those  in  the  Allgemeine 
deutsche  Bibliothek,  proved  a  fairly  adequate  substitute.  Next 
in  importance  are  essays  and  letters  written,  in  most  cases, 
by  Germans  who  were,  or  had  been  at  some  time,  in  England. 
Material  of  this  sort  appears  in  abundance  in  the  periodicals, 
of  which  Wieland's  Merkur  has  most  to  offer.  Such  sources 
as  the  above  mentioned  have  been  exhausted  in  so  far  as  they 
were  accessible;  but  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  imagina- 
tive literature,  or  belles-lettres.  Here  no  effort  is  made  to 
cover  the  entire  ground;  attention  is  restricted  to  the  most 
important  authors  and  to  a  few  others — such,  for  instance, 
as  Christian  Felix  Weisse — whose  interest  in  Britain  was 
especially  marked. 

The  number  of  Germans  who  found  their  way  to  England 
in  the  eighteenth  century  is  little  short  of  astonishing.  In 
fact,  travel  had  already  become  very  general.  One  important 
body  of  tourists  were  young  noblemen,  whose  education  was 
considered  incomplete  without  an  acquaintance  with  foreign 
lands.  These  young  men  visited  as  a  matter  of  course  the 
leading  European  countries,  usually  conducted  by  a  tutor. 
Under  this  system  of  education  many  scions  of  noble  German 
families  visited  England  in  the  eighteenth  century,  as  they 
had,  to  some  extent,  in  earlier  times.  In  Wieland's  Merkur 
for  October,  1784,  we  read  of  the  mania  for  traveling^:  "In 
no  age  of  the  world  was  travel  so  common  as  in  ours,  when  it 
has  become  a  sort  of  epidemic.  Kings  and  princes  leave 
their  thrones  in  order,  as  private  citizens,  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  foreign  lands.  .  .  .  Hence  it  is  no  wonder — 
in  our  age  of  much  travel  and  many  books: — that  so  many 
descriptions  of  travel  are  written."  "Descriptions  of  travel," 
writes  Johann  Reinhold  Forster  in  1790,2  "have  become  during 

i"Ueber  das  Reisen,"  Der  Teutsche  Merkur.  hrsg.  von  C.  M.  Wieland. 
lis  Vols,  in  70.    Weimar,  1773-1806.    Oct.  1784,  p.  151. 

2  Magazin  von  merkwurdigen  neuen  Reisebeschreibungen,  aus  fremden  Sprachen 
ubersetzt.    33  Vols.  Berlin,  1790.    Vorrede,  Vol.  I,  p.  I. 


xiii 


the  last  few  years  a  Modelekture,  and  in  this  the  public  has 
undoubtedly  made  a  good  choice."  According  to  Sir  Thomas 
Nugent,  it  was  the  Germans  who  set  the  pace  for  globe- 
trotters in  those  times '}  "  There  is  no  nation  fonder  of  traveling 
than  the  Germans;  one  meets  with  them  in  all  parts  of  Europe, 
and  should  we  admit  that  their  natural  parts  are  not  equal  to 
those  of  their  neighbors — the  experience  they  gain  abroad 
makes  an  ample  amends  for  what  they  are  supposed  to  want 
naturally." 

As  to  the  goal  of  many  of  these  tourists  we  learn  something 
from  Karl  Heinrich  Schaible:^  "  Incomparably  more  than  any 
other  European  country  England  always  had  a  peculiar  power 
of  attraction  for  Germans.  Nowhere  [else]  did  they  feel  at 
home  so  soon,  nowhere  [else]  did  they  develop  such  a  warm 
attachment  to  the  land  of  their  adoption.  When  I  undertook 
an  investigation  of  the  presence  of  Germans  in  England  in 
past  centuries,  their  number  astonished  me;  I  was  overawed 
by  the  immensity  of  the  task  I  had  undertaken."  In  fact, 
so  numerous  were  the  Germans  in  London  that  those  who 
wished  to  learn  the  English  language  were  seriously  handi- 
capped, as  was  the  case  with  Johann  Jacob  Volkmann:^ 
"The  many  fellow-countrymen  whom  a  German  will  find  it 
difficult  to  avoid,  speak  either  their  mother- tongue  or  very 
imperfect  English."  It  has  been  estimated  that  there  were 
between  four  and  five  thousand  Germans  in  London  at  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  that  the  number  had 
increased  by  the  end  of  the  century  to  six  thousand.^ 

It  is  apparent,  then,  that  eighteenth  century  Germans  had 
every  opportunity  to  become  acquainted  with  the  British, 
and  that  they  made  good  use  of  their  opportunities  will  be 
clearly  established,  it  is  believed,  by  the  following  pages. 

Of  the  many  Germans  who  resided  in  England  Johann 

1  The  Grand  Tour.    3d  ed.    4  Vols.    London,  1778.    Vol.  II,  p.  47. 

2  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  in  England  von  den  ersten  germanischen  Ansiedlungen 
in  Britannien  bis  zum  Ende  des  18.  Jahrhunderts.    Strassburg,  1885.    p.  450. 

3  Neueste  Reisen  durch  England  vorziiglich  in  A  bsicht  auf  die  Kunstsammlungen , 
Natur geschichte,  Oekonomie,  Manufacturen  und  Landsitze  der  Grossen.  4  Vols. 
Leipzig,  1 78 1.    Vol.  I,  p.  136.  * 

^Schaible:  op.  cit.,  p.  368. 


xiv 


Wilhelm  von  Archenholz,  best  known  as  the  author  of  a 
history  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  was  at  the  same  time  the 
most  prolific  writer  on  EngHsh  life  and  one  of  the  most  ardent 
admirers  of  the  English.  His  first  work  was  a  book  in  two 
volumes,  England  und  Italien  (1785),  which  met  with  such 
success  as  to  justify,  at  least  in  its  author's  mind,  a  continua- 
tion in  twenty  volumes,  to  which  he  gave  the  title,  Annalen 
der  brittischen  Geschichte  des  Jahres  (sic!)  1788-1796,  Further- 
more, England  has  an  important  place  in  the  periodical 
Minerva,  ein  Journal  historischen  und  politischen  Inhalts,  of 
which  Archenholz  was  editor  from  1792  to  1812.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  he  is  too  much  inclined  to  see  only  the  good 
qualities  of  the  British;  this  fact  is  recognized,  for  instance, 
by  Wieland.^  It  is  true  that  England  does  not  always  appear 
to  such  advantage  in  the  later  volumes  of  the  Annalen  and 
in  the  Minerva  as  in  the  earlier  writings,  but  this  is  due 
perhaps  to  criticisms  from  such  reviewers  as  Wieland  rather 
than  to  Archenholz'  anglomania  having  given  place,  after  the 
French  Revolution,  to  gallomania, — as  Robert  Elsasser  holds. ^ 
After  Archenholz  in  voluminousness  but  before  him  in  time 
comes  Wendeborn  as  a  writer  on  Great  Britain.  Gebhard 
Friedrich  August  Wendeborn,  a  Lutheran  clergyman,  went 
to  England  in  1767  and  in  1770  took  charge  of  a  church  in 
London,  where  he  resided  until  1793.  His  first  work,  Beitrdge 
zur  Kenntnis  Grossbritanniens ,  appeared  in  1780  and  was  later 
expanded  into  four  volumes  as  Zustand  des  Staats,  der  Religion, 
der  Gelehrsamkeit  und  der  Kunst  in  Grossbritannien  gegen  Ende 
des  18.  Jahrhunderts  (i  784-1 788).  This  is  by  far  the  most 
valuable  work  by  a  German  author  on  Great  Britain  up  to 
that  time.  Unlike  Archenholz,  Wendeborn  is  quite  ready  to 
recognize  the  faults  of  the  British  and  is  at  times  too  severe 
in  his  strictures.  A  later  writer  on  England  who  is  otherwise 
almost  entirely  unknown  is  C.  A.  G.  Goede.  Of  him  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that,  though  he  wrote  at  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  he  is  scarcely  less  enthusiastic  in  his 

iSee  Annalen  der  brittischen  Geschichte  des  Jahres  1788-1796.  20  Vols. 
Vol.  I  (Braunschweig,  no  date),  p.  341. 

2  Ueher  die  politischen  Bildungsreisen  der  Deutschen  nach  England  vom 
achizehnten  Jahrhundert  bis  1813-    Heidelberg,  1917.  PP-  70-72- 


XV 


praise  of  the  English  than  Archenholz.  Since  these  three  men, 
Archenholz,  Wendeborn  and  Goede  wrote  intelligently  on  all 
aspects  of  British  life,  they  are  the  authors  most  frequently 
cited. 

Of  less  importance  than  the  foregoing  is  Karl  Ludwig, 
Freiherr  von  Pollnitz,  who  in  1710,  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
started  on  his  extensive  travels  over  Europe,  which  continued 
for  many  years.  In  1735  he  became  attached  to  the  court  of 
Frederick  William  I  of  Prussia  as  chamberlain.  His  Memoirs 
cover  the  years  1 729-1 733  and,  so  far  as  they  have  to  do  with 
Great  Britain,  are  one  continuous  eulogy.  A  saner  point  of 
view  is  reached  by  Johann  Jacob  Volkmann,  who  visited 
England  in  1761.  His  chief  interest  was  in  the  fine  arts,  and 
his  attention  was  attracted  above  all  else  to  the  valuable 
collections  to  be  found  in  England.  His  Neueste  Reisen  durch 
England  appeared  twenty  years  after  this  tour,  and  for  it  he 
drew  freely  from  previous  writers,  but  he  is  not  without 
independence  of  thought.^  Better  known  than  any  of  the 
foregoing  is  Karl  Philipp  Moritz,  Sttlrmer  und  Drdnger  and, 
like  Wendeborn,  a  Protestant  clergyman.  His  Reisen  eines 
Deutschen  in  England  im  Jahre  1782  is  one  of  the  few  descrip- 
tions of  travel  from  the  period  that  are  still  readable.  Moritz 
formed  his  own  opinions,  and  they  are  by  no  means  always 
favorable  to  the  English.  Even  more  obscure  than  Goede  is 
J.  G.  B.  Biischel,  whose  Neue  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  nach  und 
in  England  im  Jahre  i/^8j  was  written  as  a  pendant  to  Moritz' 
popular  work.  Biischel  has  no  particular  merit,  but  his  book 
is  of  some  interest  as  representing  the  extreme  in  undis- 
criminating  admiration  of  the  British.  Enthusiastic  as  he  is, 
however,  he  scarcely  outdoes  Karl  Gottlieb  Kiittner,  who 
traveled  many  years  in  England,  Ireland,  France,  Italy, 
Switzerland,  the  Netherlands,  Sweden  and  Norway,  and  who 
does  not  tire  of  pointing  out  England's  superiority  over  other 
countries  in  general  and  in  particular  over  France.  By  far 
the  most  interesting  of  the  books  of  travel  consulted  is  Johann 
Georg  Forster's  Ansichten  vom  Niederrhein,  von  Brabant, 

1  To  the  contrary,  Elsasser  (op.  cit.,  p.  31),  according  to  whom  Volkmann 
simply  re-echoes  the  opinions  of  Wendeborn. 


xvi 


FlanderUy  Holland,  England  und  Frankreich  (1791).  The 
author  was  a  son  of  Johann  Reinhold  Forster,  the  famous 
natural  scientist,  and  both  father  and  son  were  companions  of 
Cook  on  his  epoch-making  tour  around  the  world  (i  772-1 775). 
Georg  Forster  is  to  be  relied  upon  for  a  discriminating,  im- 
partial attitude  toward  the  British.  The  only  one  entitled 
to  be  mentioned  in  the  class  with  Forster  is  the  well-known 
scientist  and  satirist,  Georg  Christoph  Lichtenberg,  who  offers 
no  comprehensive  work  on  the  British,  but  who  has  much  of 
interest  and  importance  to  say  of  them  here  and  there  in  his 
writings.  In  Andreas  Riem — available  for  this  study  only  in 
the  book  reviews — we  encounter  the  only  consistently  anti- 
British  writer  of  the  entire  period.  On  account  of  its  hostile 
attitude,  his  Reise  durch  England  (i 798-1 799)  occupies  a 
unique  position  among  the  works  considered. 

A  word  is  in  order  as  to  the  treatment  of  the  two  phases 
of  English  culture  that  most  interested  the  Germans;  namely, 
literature  and  politics.  An  adequate  discussion  of  these  sub- 
jects, particularly  of  the  former,  is  far  beyond  the  scope  of 
this  monograph.  Nothing  more  is  attempted  than  to  show 
in  a  general  way  how  the  German  reacted  toward  English 
letters  and  English  political  life.^ 

1  The  student  of  English  literary  influence  on  Germany  will  find  invaluable 
the  bibliography  compiled  by  Lawrence  Marsden  Price:  "English- German 
Literary  Influences."  U niversity  of  California  Publications  in  Modern  Philology. 
Vol.  9,  No.  I  (1919).  pp.  i-iii.  Pages  19-50  are  devoted  to  the  eighteenth 
century. 

As  for  the  German  attitude  toward  English  politics  see  Robert  Elsasser, 
Ueher  die  poUtischen  Bildungsreisen  der  Deutschen  nach  England  vom  achtzehnten 
Jahrhundert  bis  1815  (Heidelberg,  1917.  Completed  July  1914,  having  been 
expanded  from  a  doctoral  dissertation) ;  afid  Frieda  Braune,  Edmund  Burke  in 
Deutschland.  (Heidelberg,  1917.)  Both  of  these  works  were  obtained  after 
the  completion  of  the  present  study,  in  connection  v/ith  which  Elsasser's  book 
is  of  especial  interest.  He  takes  as  his  point  of  departure  an  article — not 
available  to  the  present  writer — by  R.  Philippsthal:  Deutsche  Reisende  des  18. 
Jahrhunderts  in  England:  in  der  Festschrift  zum  13.  Neuphilologentag  in  Han- 
nover IQ08  (Hanover,  1908),  of  which  the  purpose  is  simply  to  "incite  further 
investigation."  Elsasser  gives  a  full  account  of  the  travels  of  Germans  to 
England  between  1750  and  1815,  always  with  special  reference  to  their  political 
impressions.  Comparatively  few  of  the  tourists,  however,  offer  discriminating 
comments  on  politics;  it  is  often  possible  to  present  their  ideas  on  this  subject 


xvii 


Finally,  it  may  be  well  to  say  something  regarding  the 
quotations  that  are  so  freely  used.  In  the  first  place,  only 
the  occasional  verses  that  are  quoted  appear  in  the  German 
original.  Many  of  the  other  passages  were  obtainable  only  in 
the  very  imperfect  eighteenth  century  translations.  Sources 
that  were  found  in  the  original  German  editions — and  such 
sources  furnish  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  quotations — 
were  translated  into  English  by  the  writer.  In  a  few  instances 
translations  were  quoted,  even  when  the  original  was  obtain- 
able; this  was  the  rule,  in  fact,  for  passages  from  modern 
works  of  which  satisfactory  translations  were  to  be  had.  An 
examination  of  the  foot-notes  and  of  the  bibliography  will 
invariably  establish  the  identity  of  the  translator,  except  in 
the  case  of  a  few  anonymous  translations  from  the  eighteenth 
century ;  and  these  versions  are  on  the  whole  so  poor  that  it  is 
easy  enough  to  understand  why  no  one  would  care  to  affix 
his  name  to  them.  In  short,  unless  otherwise  indicated,  the 
writer  is  to  be  held  responsible  for  all  translations. 

in  a  few  sentences.  On  the  other  hand,  the  author  does  not  hesitate  to  record 
the  tourists'  impressions  of  other  important  phases  of  English  life,  and  in  so 
doing  he  not  infrequently  enters  the  general  field  of  the  present  investigation, 
in  so  far  as  the  latter  has  to  do  with  the  opinions  of  Germans  who  visited  England 
after  the  middle  of  the  century. 

Another  monograph  of  similar  interest,  though  dealing  with  a  later  period, 
is  the  doctoral  dissertation  of  John  Whyte:  Young  Germany  in  Us  relation  to 
Great  Britain.    Menasha,  Wisconsin,  19 17. 

Germany  and  the  French  Revolution,  by  G.  P.  Gooch  (London,  1920),  an  ad- 
mirable book  with  which  the  present  writer  became  acquainted  only  after  his 
own  monograph  had  gone  to  press,  presents  a  number  of  interesting  comments 
on  German  opinion  of  the  English  state  and  government. 


2 


CHAPTER  I 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  ENGLAND 

The  first  impressions  of  the  German  visitor  to  England  in 
the  eighteenth  century  were  almost  invariably  favorable. 
After  the  disagreeable,  sometimes  perilous,  passage  of  the 
English  Channel,  it  would  have  been  a  temporary  relief  to 
land  on  a  barren  island;  the  inconvenience  experienced  in 
reaching  the  country  doubtless  enhanced  its  attractions  for 
the  newcomer.  Even  today,  in  well  appointed  vessels  that 
make  the  run  in  less  than  an  hour,  the  voyage  is  not  always 
a  pleasure,  but  in  the  small,  dirty  ships  of  a  century  or  two 
ago  the  passenger  was  exposed  to  serious  annoyances  and 
found  himself  at  the  mercy  of  wind  and  wave.  The  tourists 
who  recorded  their  experiences  seldom  failed  to  refer  to  these 
discomforts.  Among  these  is  Uffenbach,  who  visited  England 
about  the  middle  of  the  century  and  who  says:^  "It  went 
surprisingly  well  the  first  two  hours  (so  long  as  we  were  still 
in  sight  of  land  on  one  side).  But  when  we  reached  the  high 
sea,  where  the  water  is  swollen  and  deep  and  the  waves  are 
greater,  the  ship  and  our  hearts  commenced  to  dance  at  the 
same  moment,  and  our  heads  to  go  around.  We  proceeded 
at  a  remarkable  speed,  and  the  sails  were  drawn  with  such 
force  that  the  ship  became,  on  one  side,  even  with  the  water, 
while  the  other  side  was  tossed  so  high  that  we  could  not 
even  remain  seated,  much  less  stand,  without  taking  a  firm 
hold."  This  writer  continues  with  a  painfully  realistic,  though 
illuminating  account  of  the  sad  effects  of  the  rough  sea  on  his 
fellow-passengers,  maintaining,  of  course,  that  he  himself  came 
off  somewhat  better  than  the  others. 

The  marked  variance  to  be  found  in  the  statements  regarding 
treatment  received  at  the  hands  of  customs-house  officials 
is  due  in  part,  perhaps,  to  the  varying  states  of  mind  in  which 

1  Merkwiirdige  Reisen  durch  Nieder  sacks  en,  Holland  und  Engelland.  3  Vols. 
Ulm,  1753.    Vol.  II,  p.  428. 

1 


2 


the  travelers  arrived,  dependent,  in  turn,  upon  the  fury  of 
the  waves  and  the  time  required  for  the  passage, — this  latter 
being  a  very  indefinite  factor.  On  the  whole,  the  baggage 
inspectors  seem  not  to  have  molested  their  victims  very 
seriously.  Biischel,  whose  visit  dates  from  1783  and  who,  by 
the  way,  spent  thirty- two  hours  on  board  the  Prince  of  Orange 
in  crossing  the  Channel,^  had  been  prepared  by  one  of  his 
fellow  tourists  for  serious  interference  from  the  officials,  but 
he  found  the  inspection  to  be  largely  a  matter  of  form.^ 
Lichtenberg,  who  made  the  first  of  his  two  trips  to  England 
in  1770,  did  not  come  off  so  easily  with  his  baggage  inspection:^ 
"The  customs  officials  boarded  our  ship  [at  Harwich]  and 
searched  our  pockets  and  clothing  in  the  roughest  manner." 
He  adds  that  a  landing  was  effected  only  at  the  peril  of  the 
passengers'  lives,  as  they  were  compelled  to  go  ashore  in  a 
little  boat  which  was  an  easy  prey  to  the  rain  and  wind  and 
high  waves.  Albrecht  von  Haller,  who  visited  England  forty 
years  earlier,  found  the  inspection  of  baggage  less  annoying 
than  in  France.  He  says  in  this  connection:^  ''One  is  not 
very  exacting  except  in  suspicious  cases.  If  smuggled  goods 
are  found,  only  those  are  seized  of  which  the  importation  is 
prohibited,  without  further  punishment;  while  in  France  the 
seizure  is  attended  with  a  heavy  penalty,  often  corporal 
punishment."  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  strictness 
of  the  customs  officials  varied  from  time  to  time  with  changing 
political  and  economic  conditions ;  but  in  general  the  foreigner 
met  with  little  difficulty  in  gaining  admission  into  England  for 
himself  and  for  such  personal  belongings  as  his  needs  required. 
The  first  town  visited  was  usually  Harwich,  which,  as  such, 

^  The  German  tourist  made  the  voyage  to  England  ordinarily  on  the  packet- 
boat  from  Helvoetsluis  to  Harwich.  If  he  chose  to  go  by  way  of  France,  there 
were  two  routes  open  to  him;  from  Calais  to  Dover  or  from  Dieppe  to  Bright- 
elmstone  (Brighton),  the  latter  being  the  more  popular.  Cf.  Albert  Leitzmann: 
Zeitschrift  zur  deutschen  Philologie.    Vol.  XXXVI  (1904),  p.  424. 

2  Biischel,  J.  G.  B.,  Neue  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  nach  und  in  England  im 
Jahre  1783-    Berlin,  1784.    p.  24. 

3  Bruchstiicke  aus  dem  Tagebuch  von  der  Reise  nach  England.  Vermischte 
Schriften,  8  Vols.    Gottingen,  1844.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  273. 

4  Tagebiicher  seiner  Reisen  nach  Deutschland,  Holland  und  England  1723-27^ 
hrsg.  von  L.  Hirzel.    Leipzig,  1883.    p.  119. 


3 


received  more  attention  than  its  importance  justified.  How- 
ever, the  tourist  had  scant  praise  for  this  village  and  was 
usually  glad  enough  to  make  his  sojourn  there  as  brief  as 
possible.  Uffenbach,  cited  above,  complains  of  being  held  up 
six  days  in  Harwich  on  his  homeward  trip.  "This  is  all  the 
more  annoying,"  he  finds,^  "because  one  can  see  and  do 
nothing  in  this  poor  spot,  is  badly  treated  and  must  pay  out 
an  enormous  sum  of  money.  .  ,  .  The  captain  could  have 
sailed  earlier,  but  they  have  an  understanding  with  the  land- 
lords and  defer  their  departure  as  long  as  possible." 

As  the  tourist  continued  his  way  to  London,  he  soon  forgot 
the  hardships  of  his  passage,  the  annoyance  of  the  inspection 
by  customs  officers  and  the  brief,  uninteresting  stay  in  Har- 
wich. The  natural  beauties  of  the  country  and  the  busy  life 
of  its  inhabitants  absorbed  his  attention  and  fully  compensated 
him  for  all  the  hardships  he  had  undergone.  German  writers 
usually  agree  in  testifying  to  the  mildness  and  healthfulness  of 
the  climate  in  England,  though  they  do  not  all  indorse  the 
opinion  of  an  early  geographer^  of  the  century,  who  tells  us 
that  "the  climate  of  England  is  so  temperate  that  one  has  no 
need  of  heated  rooms  there  as  a  protection  from  the  cold  of 
winter;  nor  of  grottos  or  caves  to  temper  the  heat  of  summer." 
The  prevalence  in  Germany  of  an  impression  that  the  climate 
of  England  was  not  altogether  healthful  is  indicated  by  the 
following  refutation  of  such  a  belief,  from  Archenholz'  England 
und  Italien:^  "The  low  mortality  in  the  provinces,  the  large 
number  of  aged  people  living  in  England,  as  well  as  the 
beautiful  complexion  of  the  English  woman,  which  is  acknowl- 
edged to  surpass  that  of  all  other  European  women,  prove 
that  the  unhealthfulness  of  the  climate  and  the  fatality  of  the 
coal  smoke  are  chimeras  of  the  imagination."  Coal  smoke 
and  the  open  fire  were  considered  very  pernicious  by  Germans 
who  did  not  stay  long  enough  in  England  to  become  accus- 
tomed to  new  conditions.    To  the  former  was  attributed 

^  Merkwurdige  Reisen,  etc.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  254. 

2  Berckenmeyer,  P.  L.:  Neuvermehrter  Curieuser  Antiquarius,  6th  ed. 
Hamburg,  i73i-    P-  205. 

^  Allgemeine  deutsche  Bibliothek.  118  Vols.  Berlin  und  Stettin,  1765-92; 
Kiel,  1792-96.    Vol.  LXXI  (1787),  pt.  i,  p.  8. 


4 


much  disease  and  to  the  latter,  the  poor  eye-sight  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  as  indicated  by  the  large  proportion 
of  them  who  had  to  wear  glasses,  even  at  a  very  early  age. 
Kiittner,  on  the  other  hand,  believed  the  smoke  from  coal  to 
be  healthful,  acting  as  the  best  corrective  of  the  dampness 
in  such  regions  as  Lancashire.^ 

On  no  other  score  are  eighteenth  century  German  writers 
more  consistent  in  their  praise  of  England  than  in  what  they 
have  to  say  of  the  physical  appearance  of  the  country.  Not 
only  do  they  find  Nature  there  at  her  best,  but  the  hand  of 
man  has  been  active  to  beautify  his  abode  in  every  possible 
way.  The  fine  roads,  beautiful  parks  and  handsome  country 
residences  arouse  the  lasting  admiration  of  all  visitors.  Kiitt- 
ner, whose  love  of  England  was  increased,  after  an  extended 
residence  there,  by  a  visit  to  France  [in  1787],  records  his  first 
impressions  of  the  land  of  his  adoption  '*When  I  traveled 
from  Dover  to  London  five  years  ago,  everything  was  striking, 
everything  new  to  me,  ever>^thing  admirable.  It  was  my  first 
visit  to  this  island.  Never  had  I  seen  such  fine  roads,  such 
clean  inns,  such  excellent  horses  and  carriages  and  such 
handsome  equipage,  never  so  many  neat,  attractive  homes  of 
peasants."  The  anglomania  of  this  writer  prompts  him  fre- 
quently to  compare  France  with  England  to  the  almost 
invariable  disadvantage  of  the  former.  On  the  road  from 
Calais  to  Paris  he  deplores,  above  all,  the  total  lack  of  those 
numerous  country  estates  which  add  so  much  to  the  natural 
beauty  of  the  landscape,  making  of  England  one  enormous 
park.^  He  testifies,  furthermore,  to  the  charm  and  attractive- 
ness of  English  villages,  giving  them,  in  this  regard,  first  place, 
but  not  failing  to  record  that  those  of  Holland  surpass  them 
in  neatness  and  cleanliness,  while  German  and  Swiss  towns 
do  not  suffer  in  comparison  with  the  others.* 

Among  the  German  writers  who  have  enthusiastic  praise 

Mbid.,  Vol.  CX  (1792),  part  I,  p.  216. 

2  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  vorziiglich  des  gegenwdriigen  Zustandes  von  Frankreich 
und  Holland.  Leipzig,  1792.  p.  2.  (Kiittner  visited  France  in  1787  and 
again  in  1791) 

3  ibid.,  pp.  15-16. 
*  ibid.,  p.  239. 


5 


for  English  scenery  is  Karl  Philipp  Moritz — a  friend  of  Goethe 
— whose  unhappy  experiences  on  a  foot-tour  through  England 
failed  to  dampen  his  ardor  for  the  beauty  of  the  country. 
''The  earth  is  not  the  same  everywhere,"  he  writes,^  "How- 
different  did  I  find  these  rich,  fertile  fields,  the  green  of  the 
trees  and  hedges,  the  whole  Elysian  landscape,  from  ours 
and  from  all  the  others  I  have  seen!  How  splendid  these 
roads,  how  firm  this  earth  under  my  feet;  at  every  step  I 
felt  that  I  was  walking  on  English  soil."  He  goes  still  further 
in  extolling  the  beauties  of  England  over  the  scenery  of  his 
own  country,  telling  us  that  the  most  commonplace  region 
of  those  he  visited  in  England  would  pass  for  a  paradise  in 
Germany .2  According  to  Haller,  only  the  absence  of  vine- 
yards marred  the  perfection  of  the  English  landscape.^  But 
the  scenery  of  England  was  found  to  be  so  pleasing  in  the 
springtime  that  only  his  gallantry  prevented  Baron  Bielfeld 
from  pronouncing  it  the  most  beautiful  thing  he  had  ever  seen. 

As  it  was,  he  wrote  to  a  certain  "Mademoiselle  von  ":'^ 

"After  you,  nature  has  never  yet  offered  anything  to  my  sight 
so  beautiful  as  the  spring  in  England.  The  grass  that  now 
grows  is  thicker  and  more  luxuriant  and  forms  a  finer  turf 
than  is  to  be  seen  in  any  other  country  of  Europe;  even  the 
verdure  itself  appears  to  me  brighter." 

It  was  not  the  scenery  alone  that  made  a  tour  of  England 
in  the  eighteenth  century  so  delightful  to  a  visitor  who  had 
traveled  extensively  on  the  Continent.  In  no  other  country 
of  Europe  were  found  such  favorable  conditions  of  travel,  in 
no  other  except  France  were  the  roads  so  good,  nowhere  were 
finer  horses  and  carriages  to  be  found,  and  nowhere  were  the 
postillions  more  capable  and  obliging.^    Above  all,  the  English 

1  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  in  England  im  Jahre  1782  (Deutsche  Liter aturdenkmale 
des  18.  und  19.  Jahrhunderts,  V.  126 — Berlin,  1903),  p.  7. 

2  ibid.,  p.  80. 

3  Tagebiicher  seiner  Reisen,  etc.,  p.  120. 

*  Letters  of  Baron  Bielfeld,  translated  from  the  German  by  Mr,  Hooper. 
4  Vols.    London,  1768.    Vol.  IV,  p.  157.    (April  25,  1741.) 

5  We  must,  of  course,  bear  in  mind  that  the  visitor's  impressions  of  England 
were  based  largely  on  a  comparison  of  the  conditions  he  found  there  with  those 
of  his  own  country,  so  that  he  gives  us  frequently  a  relative,  rather  than  an 
exact  view  of  what  he  saw.    W.  E.  Mead,  in  his  interesting  work.  The  Grand 


6 


inns  surpassed  those  of  other  countries  in  cleanliness  and 
comfort,  if  not  in  cuisine.  For  all  these  advantages  the  tourist 
had  to  pay  rather  dearly,  and  frequent  are  his  complaints 
of  the  exorbitant  charges  of  the  landlord,  which  had  to  be 
supplemented  by  gratuities  to  each  and  every  one  of  the 
numerous  servants  lined  up  at  the  door  to  see  him  started  off 
aright;  that  is,  with  a  lightened  purse.  For  the  most  part, 
however,  the  visitors  were  willing  to  pay  English  prices  for 
the  comforts  they  enjoyed  and  to  deliver  themselves  for  a 
season  into  the  hands  of  the  country's  profiteers,  hoping — if 
we  may  judge  at  all  from  the  innumerable  titles  of  such  works 
to  be  found  in  the  book  reviews  of  the  century — to  retrieve 
their  lost  fortunes,  upon  their  return  home,  by  publishing  an 
account  of  their  travels  and  experiences. 

In  the  year  1777  Dr.  Carl  Heinrich  Titius,  a  naturalist, 
made  a  tour  of  Holland,  England  and  France.  As  to  trans- 
portation, he  says:^  "However  rapidly  one  may  travel  in 
France  in  the  stagecoaches  and  however  good,  too,  are  the 
French  roads;  still,  the  special  service  of  England  has  the 
advantage  of  better  horses  and  carriages,  and  one  can  travel, 
by  means  of  them,  perhaps  faster,  also  somewhat  more  cheaply 
than  in  France."  Of  the  vehicles,  Biischel  says:^  "With  a 
slight  alteration  these  chaises  would  pass  as  carriages  of  state 
in  Germany,  so  handsome  they  are  and  at  the  same  time  such 
elegant,  comfortable  conveyances.  Not  a  nail  is  missing, 
not  a  spot  is  to  be  seen,  nor  the  slightest  rent  in  the  up- 
holstering." He  continues  with  a  comparison  of  travel  in 
England  and  Germany.  In  the  former  country,  at  the  end 
of  each  stage  the  traveler  finds  horses  already  harnessed  and 
a  driver  awaiting  him.  Almost  before  he  knows  it,  he  is 
again  speeding  on  his  way.    In  Germany,  on  the  other  hand. 

Tour  in  the  Eighteenth  Century  (Boston  and  New  York,  1914.  P-  43).  tells  us 
that  the  overturning  of  a  coach  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  London  was  a 
very  common  incident,  and  that  in  wet  weather  there  was  in  London  a  veritable 
slough  between  Kensington  Palace  and  St.  James'  Palace.  But  the  same  writer 
points  out  (ibid.,  p.  68)  that  the  conditions  of  travel  in  Germany  were  even 
more  primitive. 

1  Bernoulli,  Johann,  Sammlung  kurzer  Reisebeschreibungen.  16  Vols.  Berlin, 
1781-83.    Vol.  X,  p.  27. 

2  Neue  Reisen,  etc.,  p.  27. 


7 


the  exchange  of  horses  is  accomplished  only  with  confusion 
and  involves  a  delay,  which  is  frequently  as  long  as  the  time 
required  to  make  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  in  England. 

The  German  visitor  to  England,  after  a  single  experience, 
could  be  counted  on  to  avoid  a  trip  on  the  outside  of  a  coach. 
Johann  Georg  Forster  gives  a  description  of  the  torments  of 
traveling  in  such  a  manner:^  ''The  seat  is  endurable,  but  very 
hard,  and  one  holds  to  a  crooked  iron  bar,  which  is  fastened 
as  a  balustrade  to  the  edge;  but  the  feet  must  be  firmly 
planted  against  the  coach-box,  which  results  in  giving  the 
entire  body  a  violent  shaking.  In  such  a  seat  one  has  not  a 
moment's  safety,  once  the  iron  rail  is  released.  Never  is  one 
comfortably  seated,  and,  accordingly,  a  change  of  position  is 
necessary  every  five  minutes.  In  short,"  he  concludes,  "I 
know  of  nothing  that  can  compare  with  it,  save  the  torments 
of  a  German  stage-coach."  Nevertheless,  as  the  unfortunate 
Moritz  observes, 2  the  poorest  man  would  rather  run  the  risk 
of  breaking  his  neck  as  a  passenger  on  the  outside  of  a  coach 
than  travel  even  a  short  distance  on  foot.  Goede,  twenty 
years  later,  finds  this  condition  unchanged:^  "On  account  of 
the  splendid  roads  and  excellent  inns,  which  we  may  expect  to 
find  even  in  the  villages,  England  would  be  well  adapted  to 
foot- tours,  but  the  latter  are  still  almost  as  unusual  as  at  the 
time  when  Moritz  wandered  painfully  through  Derbyshire." 

In  their  praise  of  the  inns  visitors  to  England  were  almost 
unanimous.  The  cleanliness,  the  cheerful  atmosphere,  the 
careful  attention  of  landlord  and  servants  to  the  comfort  of 
the  guest,  made  the  latter  feel  at  home  from  the  moment  of 
his  arrival.  Forster  has  much  to  say  about  the  excellence  of 
English  inns.  In  them,  he  writes,^  "all  is  attention,  and  the 
most  ordinary  traveler  is  treated  as  if  he  were  the  first  lord. 
The  servants  run  to  the  carriage  as  soon  as  they  see  someone 

^  Ansichten  vom  Niederrhein,  von  Brabant,  Flandern,  Holland,  England  und 
Frankreich  (1791),  Sdmmtliche  Schriften.  9  Vols,  in  5.  Leipzig,  1843.  Vol. 
Ill,  p.  410. 

2  Reisen  eines  Deutschen,  etc.,  p.  loi. 

3  England,  Wales,  Irland  und  SchoUland.  2nd  ed.  5  Vols.  Dresden,  1806. 
Vol.  V,  p.  6. 

*  Ansichten,  etc.,  p.  3^8. 


8 


arriving;  the  landlord  himself  appears  and  welcomes  his 
guests.  He  serves  them  at  the  table,  and  the  chamber-maid 
sees  to  it  carefully  that  the  beds  are  fresh  and  clean." 
Nemnich,  who  traveled  somewhat  later  in  England,  does  not 
agree  with  Forster  as  to  the  hospitable  reception  of  all  guests 
at  the  inns.  He  advises  the  tourist  to  drive  up  in  state,  unless 
he  can  reconcile  himself  to  being  assigned  to  very  poor  lodgings, 
for  which,  however,  he  would  have  to  pay  the  price  of  the  best.^ 

Goede  contrasts  English  inns  with  those  of  his  own  country 
"All  travelers  confess  that  they  were  most  pleasantly  sur- 
prised by  the  elegance  of  the  hostelries  in  all  parts  of  England. 
One  often  finds  inns  in  English  villages  with  which  the  large 
hotels  of  many  a  German  capital  would  not  bear  comparison." 
Kiittner,  in  1791,  after  extensive  travels  over  Europe,  pro- 
fesses to  know  of  no  nation  that  can  even  remotely  compare 
with  England  in  respect  to  the  excellence  of  entertainment  to 
be  had  by  the  tourist  in  the  country,^  In  particular,  he  finds 
that  French  inn-keepers  have  no  conception  of  the  cleanliness, 
elegance  and  comfort  one  finds  in  almost  any  English  inn.^ 
We  might  go  on  indefinitely  citing  passages  from  eighteenth 
century  German  writers  in  praise  of  the  English  inn  and  its 
proprietor;  their  enthusiasm  does  not  surprise  us,  in  view  of 
contemporary  conditions  in  Germany  as  described  by  foreign 
visitors.  One  of  these,  an  Englishwoman,  Marianna  Starke, 
writes^  that  "the  Germans  seldom  have  a  wash-hand  basin 
in  any  of  their  country  inns ;  and  even  at  Villach,  a  large  town, 
we  could  not  find  one:  the  inn  we  slept  at,  however,  (its  sign 
the  Crown)  is  clean  and  good,  though  tall  people  cannot  sleep 
comfortably  either  here  or  in  any  part  of  Germany:  the  beds, 
which  are  very  narrow,  being  placed  in  wooden  frames,  or 
boxes,  so  short  that  anybody  who  happens  to  be  above  five 
feet  high  must  absolutely  sit  up  all  night  supported  by  pillows ; 
and  this  is,  in  fact,  the  way  in  which  the  Germans  sleep." 

1  Neueste  Reise  durch  England,  Schottland  und  Irland.  Tubingen,  1807. 
p.  83. 

2  England,  etc.    Vol.  V,  p.  8. 

3  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  Frankreich,  p.  240. 

4  ibid.,  p.  252. 

5  Letters  from  Italy  between  the  years  1792  and  1798.  2  Vols.  London,  1800. 
Vol.  II,  p.  209. 


9 


It  would  be  a  mistake  to  believe  that  German  visitors 
found  everything  about  the  English  inn  to  their  liking;  as  to 
the  food,  it  usually  did  not  please  them  at  first,  and  only  after 
a  long  residence  did  some  of  them  come  to  prefer  it  to  their 
own  or  to  that  of  the  French.  In  fact,  in  this  one  respect 
the  German  regularly  found  himself  better  off  in  France  than 
in  England.  He  complains  that  the  food  is  too  raw,  there  is 
too  much  meat,  the  inevitable  roast  beef  does  not  appeal  to 
him,  the  vegetables,  prepared  without  seasoning,  he  finds 
insipid.  Lichtenberg  was  among  those  who  did  not  care  for 
the  food,  however  much  he  liked  England  in  other  respects. 
*'The  Englishman,"  he  says,^  "cooks  his  soups  in  his  stomach, 
and  so  he  is  certain  of  not  allowing  the  substance  to  escape." 

While  the  food  was  not  altogether  to  the  German's  liking, 
he  was  usually  well  pleased  with  what  he  had  to  drink. 
Comments  on  the  amount  of  tea  consumed  by  all  classes  are 
frequent.  Wendeborn  asserts  that  three  times  as  much  tea 
is  drunk  in  England  as  in  all  the  rest  of  Europe  together.^ 
But  luckily  for  the  German  in  England,  he  did  not  find  himself 
dependent  upon  tea  as  his  chief  beverage.  Archenholz,  who 
enjoyed  a  long  residence  there,  would  probably  have  con- 
sidered it  unsafe  to  tarry  so  long,  had  prohibition  been  in  force. 
He  discovered  that^  "a  foggy  air  and  nourishing  food  make 
it  necessary  to  drink  strong  liquors  in  England.  Those  who 
use  water,"  he  attests,  "often  lose  their  health  and  sometimes 
their  life."  Nor  does  Biischel  find  his  happiness  disturbed 
by  the  necessity  of  drinking  tea;  "The  commonest  drink  at 
table,"  he  tells  us,^  "is  small  beer  and  strong  beer  or  porter, 
seldom  ale.  The  last  two  drinks  are  quite  to  my  liking;  I  can 
drink  like  a  real  Englishman,  and  few  days  pass  that  I  do 
not  drink  three  pots  of  this  splendid  strong  beer  without 
experiencing  the  slightest  discomfort." 

1  Bruchstucke  aus  dent  Tagebuch  von  der  Reise  nach  England.  Vermischte 
Schriften.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  284. 

2  Der  Zustand  des  Staats,  der  Religion,  der  Gelehrsamkeit  und  der  Kunst  in 
Grossbritannien  gegen  Ende  des  achtzehnten  Jahrhunderts.  4  Vols.  Berlin, 
1785.    Vol.  I,  p.  312. 

'  A  Picture  of  England,  translated  from  the  French  (of  England  und  Italien) . 
2  Vols,  in  I.    London,  1789.    Vol.  II,  p.  114. 
*  Neue  Reisen,  etc.,  p.  41. 


10 


London  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  counted 
about  600,000  inhabitants.  To  the  German  visitor,  familiar 
only  with  the  small  cities  of  his  native  land,  it  was  a  never- 
failing  source  of  wonder.  It  was  always  the  goal  of  his 
travels  to  England,  and  he  arrived  always  prepared  for  a  thrill. 
The  illumination  of  the  streets  did  not  fail  to  make  its  im- 
pression on  every  foreigner.  Moritz  refers  to  it,  relating  the 
same  anecdote  that  was  told,  in  varying  form,  of  numerous 
visitors  to  London:  "The  lamps  are  lit,"  he  says,^  "while  it  is 
still  day,  and  they  are  so  close  together  that  this  ordinary 
lighting  has  the  appearance  of  a  festive  illumination;  for 
which  it  was  taken  by  a  German  prince  who  came  to  London 
for  the  first  time  and  who  believed  seriously  that  it  had  been 
arranged  in  his  honor."  The  shop  windows,  too,  come  in  for 
a  large  share  of  the  stranger's  admiration.  In  them  were 
displayed  the  choicest  products  of  art  and  industry  from  the 
four  corners  of  the  earth.  Moritz  could  see  no  necessity  for 
text-books  and  engravings  with  which  to  instruct  children; 
they  had  but  to  go  through  the  city  streets  in  order  to  see 
everything  for  themselves;  for  paintings,  works  of  art  and 
luxuries  of  all  kinds  were  exhibited  to  the  best  advantage  in 
the  show-cases  and  windows  of  the  shops.^ 

One  of  the  early  German  visitors  to  England  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century  was  Baron  Pollnitz,  whose  first  recorded  visit 
was  in  1728.  Not  considering  Harwich  worthy  of  his  notice, 
he  hurried  on  to  London,  which  he  describes^  as  "that  city 
which,  for  its  extent,  the  number  of  its  inhabitants  and  their 
wealth,  may  pass  not  only  for  the  capital  of  a  powerful  kingdom, 
but  even  for  the  capital  of  Europe :  that  city  where  true  liberty 
bears  rule;  where  the  arts  and  sciences  are  cultivated  and 
protected;  where  the  inhabitants  enjoy  the  goods  of  fortune 
without  vain  ostentation;  where  merit  is  considered  and  birth 
highly  valued,  when  accompanied  with  virtue:  that  city,  in 
fine,  where  are  still  to  be  found  those  Roman  souls  which 
other  nations  admire,  but  know  not  how  to  imitate."  Fifty 

^  Reisen  eines  Deutschen,  etc.,  p.  19. 

2  ibid.,  p.  149. 

3  The  Memoirs  of  Charles-Lewis,  Baron  de  Pollnitz.  Translated  from  the 
German  by  Stephen  Whatley.    5  Vols.    Dublin,  1738.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  263. 


11 


years  later  Lichtenberg,  on  the  occasion  of  his  second  visit 
to  England,  writes  of  London  in  the  same  glowing  terms  to  his 
friend,  Dietrich:^  "London  is  quite  after  my  own  heart.  I 
like  it  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  many  amusements,  for 
those  are  trifles,  but  on  account  of  the  politeness  and  respect 
with  which  one  is  treated,  so  soon  as  one  only  makes  himself 
presentable  and  pays  for  what  he  eats  and  drinks." 

Kiittner,  like  many  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  in  his  en- 
thusiasm for  London  gives  Paris  second  place.^  He  admits 
that  it  is  difficult  to  compare  the  two  cities,  since  each  has 
good  and  bad  features ;  but  of  the  former  he  allows  London  a 
larger,  and  of  the  latter,  a  smaller  share.^ 

The  admiration  of  the  eighteenth  century  Germans  for 
London,  however,  did  not  blind  them  to  its  shortcomings. 
None  of  them  claimed  that  it  was  a  city  of  beauty;  the  streets 
were,  for  the  most  part,  narrow,  crooked  and  ill-paved,  and 
the  public  buildings  were  usually  a  disappointment  to  the 
visitor.  Those  that  in  magnificence  came  up  to  his  expecta- 
tions suffered  frequently  from  their  unfavorable  environment 
to  such  an  extent  that  they  did  not  produce  nearly  the  same 
effect  as  less  pretentious  structures  in  other  parts  of  Europe. 
In  general,  too,  as  we  shall  see  later  on,  Germans  did  not 
assign  to  English  architecture  a  very  high  place.    It  was 

^  Brief e.    3  Vols.    Leipzig,  1901.    Vol.  I,  p.  219  (Feb.  15,  I775-) 
2  Beitrage  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  Frankreich,  p.  28. 

2  That  London  continued  to  fascinate  the  German  visitor  after  the  period 
we  have  under  consideration  may  be  seen  from  what  Heine — whose  hatred  of 
England  is  as  pronounced  as  the  anglomania  of  the  majority  of  his  compatriots 
— has  to  say  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit  to  the  metropolis,  in  1827:  "I 
have  seen  the  greatest  wonder  which  the  world  can  show  to  the  astonished 
spirit;  I  have  seen  it  and  am  still  astonished;  and  still  there  remains  fixed  in 
my  memory  the  stone  forest  of  houses,  and  amid  them  the  rushing  stream  of 
faces  of  living  men  with  all  their  motley  passions,  all  their  terrible  impulses  of 
love,  of  hunger,  and  of  hatred — I  mean  London."  (Englische  Fragmente. 
SdmmtUche  Werke.  21  Vols.  Hamburg,  1876.  Vol.  IH,  p.  15.  The  passage 
quoted  is  from  a  translation  by  Charles  Godfrey  Leland  in  the  German  Classics. 
20  Vols.    New  York,  no  date,  Vol.  VL  p.  137). 

No  less  vivid  was  the  impression  of  London  on  Theodor  Fontane,  who  spent 
there  the  summer  of  1852  and  who,  on  viewing  the  city,  was  overcome  with 
"the  feeling  of  the  infinite — the  same  feeling  that  thrills  us  at  first  sight  of  the 
ocean."    {Aus  England  und  Schottland.    Berlin,  1900.    Pt.  i,  p.  4.) 


12 


primarily  English  life  that  made  London  so  attractive  to  the 
stranger  within  its  gates.  Certainly  that  was  the  case  with 
Archenholz,  as  it  was  with  many  of  his  fellow-countrymen. 
He  asserts  that  the  attractions  of  the  entire  country  are  so 
numerous  that^  "no  stranger  ever  remains  there  any  time 
without  being  attached  to  it  by  some  secret  charm,"  and  Baron 
Pollnitz  was  so  delighted  with  his  stay  in  London  that  he 
declared  he  would  renounce  the  most  brilliant  offers  of  fortune 
elsewhere,  if  he  could  only  have  a  thousand  pounds  a  year  in 
England.^ 

^  A  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  4. 
2  Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  304. 


CHAPTER  II 


POLITICS  AND  RELIGION 

With  the  exception  of  English  literature,  it  was  English 
politics  that  claimed  the  largest  share  of  the  attention  of  the 
German  public,  and  to  the  German  in  England  nothing  else 
was  of  more  interest  than  the  government  of  the  country,  its 
laws  and  political  institutions.^  To  give  a  complete  presenta- 
tion of  German  views  on  eighteenth  century  English  politics 
would  be  equivalent  to  writing  the  political  history  of  England 
of  that  period,  so  abundant  is  the  material  available  for  such 
a  task.  The  object  of  the  present  investigation  is  not  to 
follow  German  writers  through  the  intricate  course  of  the 
nation's  domestic  and  foreign  affairs  during  the  period  under 
consideration,  but  simply  to  ascertain  what  was  in  general  the 
German  opinion  of  the  English  state.  As  may  be  readily 
conceived,  the  Germans  who  came  into  contact  with  English 
life  were  impressed,  above  all,  with  the  freedom  and  democracy 
of  the  nation,  and  this  impression  is  reflected  in  all  their 
writings,  whether  of  a  political  nature,  or  not.  Since  love 
of  freedom  and  a  democratic  spirit  have  always  been  recognized 
as  traits  of  the  individual  Englishman,  they  will  be  taken  up 
later  on  in  our  study  of  the  English  character. 

The  unfailing  interest  of  the  British  public  in  politics  was, 
of  course,  something  new  to  the  German.  "  In  general  nothing 
is  more  difficult,"  writes  Archenholz,^  "than  to  make  an 
Englishman  speak;  he  answers  to  everything  by  yes  or  no\ 
address  him,  however,  on  some  political  subject,  and  he  is 
suddenly  animated;  he  opens  his  mouth  and  becomes  elo- 
quent: for  this  seems  to  be  connected,  from  his  infancy,  with 
his  very  existence.  .  .  .  Nothing  but  politics  is  heard  in  any 
society:  they  talk  of  nothing  but  about  meetings  to  consider 
the  affairs  of  the  state,  deputations  to  present  petitions, 

1  See  Intro,,  p.  XVI. 

2  A  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  67. 

13 


14 


remonstrances,  etc."  Moritz  was  one  of  the  many  Germans 
in  whom  an  interest  in  poHtics  was  first  awakened  by  a  visit 
to  England,  for,  as  he  explained,^  he  had  not  found  it  at 
home  to  be  a  subject  worth  while.  Vincke,  who  visited  the 
country  in  1800  and  some  years  later  [1808]  wrote  a  treatise 
on  its  government,  voices  the  opinion  of  his  countrymen 
when  he  says:^  ''Among  the  various  interesting  prospects 
which  a  closer  acquaintance  with  Great  Britain  offers, 
the  most  remarkable  is  undeniably  the  great  machine  of 
state  in  the  entire  domestic  administration  of  the  kingdom, 
without  the  visible  participation  of  the  governing  power."  To 
Albrecht  von  Haller  England  was  virtually  a  model  monarchy, 
of  which  the  principles  of  government  went  back  in  an  un- 
broken line  to  Alfred  the  Great.  In  the  introduction  to  his 
Alfred,  Konig  der  Angel- Sachsen  [written  1773],^  he  says: 
''How  the  constitution,  manners  and  religion  of  a  people  may 
undergo  frequent  alterations,  while  through  all  such  vicissi- 
tudes the  love  of  freedom  may  still  remain  inherent  in  them 
and  display  proofs  of  its  influence  on  every  occasion;  how  this 
general  sentiment,  exalted  by  all  private  interests,  may  yet 
in  no  particular  give  use  to  any  excess,  but  may  produce  an 
equilibrium  of  power  in  the  whole  fabric  of  the  state;  how  this 
spirit  of  independence  may  find  the  way  of  limiting  the  power 
of  the  king  by  means  of  a  parliament,  and  the  authority  of 
the  latter  by  means  of  the  king,  and  the  influence  of  one  house 
by  that  of  the  other;  and  how  these  strong  and  multifarious 
bonds  of  liberty  may  give  to  all  classes  of  the  people  a  lofty 
elevation  of  character;  all  these  great  and  splendid  problems 
find  their  solution  in  the  history  of  the  English  nation." 

The  constitution  of  England  usually  won  the  admiration 
of  the  Germans  who  studied  it,  though  they  were  not  blind 
to  its  defects.  Archenholz  is  one  of  its  strongest  defenders; 
Wendeborn  on  the  other  hand  often  makes  it  the  object  of  his 
severest  criticism.  Volkmann,  who  resided  for  some  time  in 
Great  Britain,  finds  the  chief  advantage  of  the  constitution 

^  Reisen  eines  Deutschen,  etc.,  p.  30. 

^  Darstellung  der  innern  Verwaltung  Grosshritanniens.    Berlin,  1815.    p.  i. 
3  Translated  into  English  by  F.  Steinitz  under  the  title  of  the  Moderate 
Monarchy.    London,  1849.    See  p.  XXV. 


15 


in  its  allowing  to  each  branch  of  the  government  authority 
to  promote  the  common  good,  but  to  no  one  branch  the  oppor- 
tunity of  jeopardizing  the  nation's  welfare  or  of  suppressing 
the  action  of  another  branch.  The  king  has  his  hands  free 
to  benefit  his  subjects,  but  his  powers  of  doing  them  harm 
are  restricted.  On  the  other  hand,  Volkmann  considers  it 
unfortunate  for  England  that  the  nation  is  divided  into  two 
parties  and  holds  that  private  interests  are  generally  respon- 
sible for  party  alignments.  As  a  further  defect  he  regards 
the  extent  of  the  crown's  influence,  especially  in  the  lower 
house,  where  the  need  and  avarice  of  the  representatives 
make  them  a  ready  prey  to  bribery  and  corruption. ^ 

To  the  eighteenth  century  German,  coming  as  he  did  from 
a  country  composed  of  small  absolute  monarchies,  each  under 
the  rule  of  a  prince  who  was,  potentially  at  least,  a  tyrant, 
the  question  of  the  king's  power  and  his  relation  to  the  people 
was  of  especial  interest.  Berckenmeyer,  whose  naive  state- 
ments are  usually  more  entertaining  than  instructive,  says:^ 
"The  majesty  of  the  king  is  so  inviolable  that  the  mere  thought 
of  laying  hands  on  his  sacred  person  and  killing  him  is  con- 
sidered high  treason  and  lese-majeste.  To  them  [i.e.,  the 
kings]  is  shown  such  respect  that  it  amounts  almost  to  wor- 
ship." He  goes  on  to  tell  us  that  the  kings  of  England,  like 
those  of  France,  possess  the  power  of  healing  goitres  by  their 
touch.  Helferich  Peter  Sturz  in  a  letter  from  London  dated 
September  5,  1768,  and  first  published  in  the  Deutsches 
Museum,^  gives  an  interesting  discussion  of  the  king's  position. 
He  says  that  the  visitor  to  London,  unfamiliar  with  the  English 
constitution,  who  saw  the  king  on  a  state  occasion,  surrounded 
by  his  bowing  courtiers,  would  believe  himself  to  be  not  in 
the  land  of  freedom,  but  at  the  court  of  some  oriental  sultan. 
"A  few  steps  from  this  scene,"  he  continues,  ''in  the  St. 
James  Cafe,  he  finds  a  newspaper  which  reviles  the  govern- 
ment in  terms  of  seditious  insolence.  For  a  long  time  he  can 
not  decide  which  of  the  two  phenomena  was  a  dream.    He  is 

^  Volkmann,  J.  J.  Neueste  Reisen  durch  England.  4  Vols.  Leipzig,  1781- 
83.    Vol.  I,  p.  49  ff.    (Volkman's  visit  to  England  was  in  1761.) 

2  Neuvermehrter  Curieuser  Antiquarius,  pp.  201-202. 

3  26  Vols.    Leipzig,  1776-88.    1779,  Vol.  I,  part  2,  p.  97. 
3 


16 


unable  to  explain  the  contradiction;  finally  he  believes  with 
the  crowd  that  the  regal  splendor  was  only  an  empty  spectacle 
and  that  the  newspaper  is  the  spirit  and  voice  of  an  unruly 
people.  .  .  .  Nevertheless,"  the  writer  concludes,  "an  English 
king,  so  long  as  he  does  not  rule  arbitrarily,  is  a  powerful 
lord,  and,  if  it  is  possible  for  happiness  to  dwell  on  a  throne, 
a  happy  one."  Baron  Pollnitz,  that  consistent  lover  of  all 
things  English,  says:^  "All  that  find  fault  with  the  EngHsh 
for  disaffection  to  their  kings  have  not  duly  read  their  history, 
or  are  fond  of  slavery;  and  they  who  think  a  king  of  Great 
Britain  is  to  be  pitied  because  he  is  not  absolute,  have  a  false 
notion  of  kingly  power.  A  monarch  of  England  is  capable  of 
doing  as  much  good  as  any  king  in  the  world,  but  he  can  do 
no  wrong." 

Germans  whose  Wanderlust  took  them  to  England  could 
count  on  being  highly  entertained  by  a  visit  to  Parliament, 
and  they  were  usually  surprised,  frequently  shocked,  by  what 
they  saw  there.  In  a  century  that  produced  Robert  Walpole, 
the  two  Pitts,  Burke,  Fox  and  so  many  other  great  statesmen, 
they  were  naturally  impressed  with  British  eloquence,  but 
they  also  had  an  opportunity  to  look  around  and  observe  some 
peculiar  English  customs.  Moritz,  who  declared  he  would 
have  considered  himself  well  repaid  for  his  trip  to  England, 
had  he  seen  nothing  else  than  the  Parliament,  gives  a  graphic 
account  of  what  he  saw  there,  but  he  has  little  to  say  as  to 
what  he  heard "It  is  nothing  unusual  to  see  a  member  of 
Parliament  stretched  out  on  one  of  the  benches,  while  the 
others  [members  of  Parliament,  doubtless]  are  engaged  in 
debate.  Some  crack  nuts,  others  eat  oranges,  or  whatever 
else  the  season  offers.  The  coming  and  going  is  almost  con- 
tinuous." Nor  does  this  German  school-master  consider  the 
speakers  sufficiently  polite  in  their  allusions  to  one  another; 
of  this  he  says:^  "Very  surprising  to  me  were  the  open  insults 
with  which  the  members  of  Parliament  referred  to  each  other, 
one  of  them  saying,  for  instance,  as  another  took  his  seat, 
'what  the  honourable  gentleman  has  just  said  is  quite  ab- 

1  Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  276. 

2  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  in  England  im  Jahre  1782,  p.  31. 

3  ibid.,  p.  34. 


17 


surd.'"  Wendeborn,  during  his  long  residence  in  London, 
frequently  attended  sessions  of  Parliament.  According  to 
him,  too,  the  order  was  not  the  best,  though  he  states  that  it 
was  much  better  in  the  upper  than  in  the  lower  house.  Of  the 
latter,  especially,  he  tells  us  that  "many  are  absent  in  body 
and  many  in  their  spirit,  which  is  busied  with  thoughts  of 
horse-races,  fox-chases  and  cock-fights.  During  the  most 
important  debates  many  eat  nuts  or  other  fruits;  many  sit 
half  asleep  until  it  is  time  to  vote,  when  those  who  are  com- 
mitted to  the  minister  already  know  whether  they  are  to  say 
yes  or  no."  ^ 

With  but  few  dissenting  voices  German  writers  of  the 
eighteenth  century  testify  to  the  mildness  and  excellence  of 
British  laws  and  courts  of  Justice.  Haller  declares  that  the 
laws  of  England  are  milder  than  those  of  any  other  European 
country ,2  and  Pollnitz  says:^  "All  the  laws  here  are  mild  and 
not  severe.  There  are  no  tortures,  nor  are  such  made  use  of 
even  in  conspiracies.  .  .  .  There  are  but  two  sorts  of  execu- 
tion known  here,  hanging  and  beheading."  Talbot,  in  Schil- 
ler's Maria  Stuart,'^  affirms  that  it  was  not  the  purpose  of  the 
founders  of  the  British  Empire  that  austerity  should  char- 
acterize its  system  of  justice: 

Die  Stifter  dieses  Reichs, 
Die  auch  dem  Weib  die  Herrscherziigel  gaben, 
Sie  zeigten  an,  dass  Strenge  nicht  die  Tugend 
Der  Konige  soli  sein  in  diesem  Lande. 

A  contributor  to  the  Neue  Allgemeine  deutsche  Bibliothek^ 
records  that  in  general  there  is  in  Germany  a  very  high  con- 
ception of  English  laws  and  courts  of  justice,  but  is  inclined 
to  believe  with  Hassel,  whose  Brief e  aus  England  he  reviews, 
that  these  are  among  the  English  institutions  that  have  been 
over-rated  by  Germans. 

Even  Wendeborn,  of  whom  his  countrymen  agree  that  he 
is  too  assiduous  in  ferreting  out  the  faults  of  everything 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  54. 

2  Tagebiicher  seiner  Reisen,  p.  119. 

^Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  291  (Whatley's  translation). 
*  Act  II,  Scene  III. 

6 107  Vols.  Kiel,  1793-1806.    Vol.  II  (1793),  pt.  2,  p.  32.t;. 


18 


British/  admits  that  the  accused  may  expect  to  receive  "all 
the  consideration  and  indulgence  that  is  compatible  with  the 
laws."  ^  The  same  writer,  however,  sees  no  mildness  in  the 
decrees  of  the  English  courts,  since  the  death  sentence,  which, 
in  his  opinion,  should  be  reserved  for  murder  alone,  is  much 
too  frequent.^  Biischel,  too,  finds  too  much  severity  in  the 
indiscriminate  sentences  of  the  courts:^  "Whoever  steals  five 
shillings  or  its  equivalent  is  hanged;  whoever  practices  any 
sort  of  forgery  is  hanged;  and  whoever  commits  the  most 
horrible  crimes  and  outrages  is  likewise  hanged."  Goede,  on 
the  other  hand,  himself  a  lawyer,  testifies  to  the  justness  of 
the  decisions  of  English  courts:^  "In  no  other  country  in  the 
world  is  the  sentence  of  the  judge  more  highly  regarded;  in 
no  other  country  are  complaints  of  partiality  and  injustice  of 
the  courts  more  seldom  heard." 

To  most  Germans  the  system  of  trial  by  a  jury  of  one's 
equals  seemed  a  great  boon  for  the  accused,  but  Hassel  and 
Wendeborn,  again,  saw  chiefly  the  disadvantages  of  this 
method.  The  jurymen,  according  to  the  former,  were  fre- 
quently totally  ignorant  and  devoid  of  all  conscience,  inasmuch 
as  the  upright  citizen  shunned  the  whole  affair.^ 

Georg  Forster,  who  attended  the  trial  of  Warren  Hastings, 
is  enthusiastic  in  his  praise  of  English  justice.  He  estimates 
that  about  two  thousand  people  attended  each  session  of  the 
court  in  Westminster  Hall  during  this  trial  and  that  easily  five 
hundred  thousand,  in  all,  may  have  witnessed  the  judgment 
of  their  fellow  countryman.  It  is  in  this  general  participation 
of  the  people  in  the  proceedings  of  the  courts  that  Forster 
finds  the  great  advantage  of  the  English  system  of  justice. 
"Divine  publicity!",  he  exclaims,^  "sublime  dignity  of  justice 
that  does  not  shun  the  light!    Let  no  people,  no  country, 

^  See,  for  instance,  Neue  Allgemeine  deutsche  Bihliothek.  Vol.  XXV  (1796), 
part  2,  p.  308. 

2  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  43. 

3  ibid.,  p.  40. 

^  Neue  Reisen,  etc.,  p.  69. 

^England,  Wales,  Irland  und  Schottland.    Vol.  II,  p.  129. 

6  N.  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  II  (1793),  Pt.  2,  p.  325. 

^  Ansichten,  etc.    Sdmmtliche  Schriften.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  367. 


19 


no  town  dare  call  itself  free,  so  long  as  its  judges  determine  the 
destiny  of  their  fellow  men  behind  closed  doors!" 

The  common  law  of  England  is  recognized  as  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  the  citizens  of  the  country.  Wieland  felicitates^ 
them,  for  instance,  on  the  protection  their  unwritten  law  gives 
them  against  the  outrage,  quite  common  at  that  time  in 
Germany,  of  publishing  without  permission  letters  injurious 
to  the  writer.  Johann  Georg  Zimmermann  observes  that  the 
English  themselves  know  how  to  appreciate  this  feature  of 
their  legal  system:^  These  self-satisfied  islanders  consider 
their  common  or  unwritten  law  .  .  .  such  a  model  of  perfec- 
tion that  as  early  as  1469  Chancellor  Fortescue,  in  his  work 
written  in  praise  of  the  same,  held  that  it  was  a  sin  even  to 
question  it." 

As  to  the  prisons  of  England,  Wendeborn  believes  them  to 
be  more  numerous  and  more  crowded  than  those  of  any  other 
country.  "The  criminals  are  always  very  numerous,  and  the 
number  of  those  who  are  deprived  of  their  freedom  on  account 
of  debts,"  he  tells  us,^  "is  almost  incredible."  SchafTer 
attempts  to  correct  the  impression  in  Germany,  for  which  he 
holds  Archenholz  partly  responsible,  that  English  prisons  were 
clean  and  comfortable.  He  found  them  dark  and  dirty,  and 
the  debtors'  prison.  King's  Bench,  of  which  he  had  expected 
so  much,  he  pronounced  little  better  than  any  similar  institu- 
tion in  Germany.^ 

Frequent  are  the  comments  on  the  fortitude  with  which  the 
English  met  the  death  penalty  and  on  the  manner  of  its 
infliction.  PoUnitz  says  that  those  who  undergo  the  ordeal 
without  fainting  are  extolled  to  the  skies  by  the  populace  as 
having  died  like  gentlemen:^  "The  execution  of  criminals 
here  is  a  perfect  show  to  the  people,  by  reason  of  the  courage 
with  which  most  of  them  go  to  the  fatal  tree.  I  lately  saw 
five  carried  to  the  gallows,  who  were  as  well  dressed  and 
seemed  as  well  pleased  as  if  they  were  going  to  a  feast." 
Wendeborn  thinks  that  nothing  could  be  more  cruel  than 

1  Der  Neue  teuische  Merkur,  1797,  Vol.  I  (April),  p.  384. 

2  Vom  Naiionalstolze.    4th  ed.,  Zurich,  1768.    p.  144. 

3  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  44. 

4  N.  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  XXV  (1796),  pt.  2,  p.  308. 

6  Memoirs  of  Charles-Lewis,  Baron  de  PoUnitz.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  292. 


20 


an  English  execution:^  "To  hang  someone,  then,  while  he  is 
still  alive,  to  take  him  down  and  open  his  living  body  in  order 
to  remove  his  heart,  then  to  cut  off  his  head,  and  finally  to 
quarter  him,  and  yet  to  say  of  other  nations  that  they  are 
barbarians  in  their  punishments,  is  certainly  forgetting  one's 
own  barbarity  in  judging  others."  It  is  very  usual  for 
German  visitors  to  condemn  the  morbid  interest  which  the 
English  populace  takes  in  hangings,  and  they  often  express 
their  surprise  that  so  many  are  present  to  witness  these  sad 
scenes;  however,  their  own  accounts  of  executions  are  so 
detailed  as  to  make  it  appear  that  they  speak  of  them  from 
first-hand  knowledge. 

While  two  countries  could  scarcely  have  differed  from  each 
other  in  politics  more  than  Germany  and  England  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  such  was  not  the  case  in  regard  to  religion. 
In  both  countries  religious  tolerance  prevailed,  both  allowed 
free  sway  to  the  various  sects  that  were  established,  and, 
toward  the  end  of  the  century,  the  "free-thinker"  was  as 
much  at  home  in  Germany  as  in  England.  Accordingly, 
the  German  did  not  find  so  much  that  was  new  to  him  in 
religious  as  in  political  conditions.  Whatever  he  thought  of 
the  Church  of  England  and  the  other  sects,  he  usually  acknowl- 
edged that  the  English  were  a  religious  people  and  that  the 
country  was  a  great  stronghold  of  Christianity.  Albrecht 
von  Haller  says  on  this  point "In  theology,  church  history, 
natural  laws,  investigation  of  the  human  soul,  they  are  un- 
surpassed." Kiittner  in  his  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  vorzuglich 
des  Inner n  von  England  und  seiner  Bewohner  discusses  the 
religion  of  the  country  and  concludes  that  there  is  "far  more 
Christianity  on  this  island  than  in  Italy  and  France."  ^ 
^  As  for  the  Church  of  England,  Wieland  considers  it  very 
narrow  in  its  orthodoxy,^  and  Wendeborn  affirms  that  it  is 
by  no  means  responsible  for  the  religious  tolerance  of  the 
country.^    Concerning  the  Episcopal  clergy  opinions  vary, 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  32. 
*  Tagebucher  seiner  Reisen,  p.  133. 

^  Allgemeine  deutsche  Bibliothek.    Vol.  CX  (1792),  pt.  i,  p.  216. 
'^Der  Neue  teutsche  Merkur,  1796,  Vol.  2  (August),  p.  339- 
6  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  191. 


21 


but  they  are  usually  conceded  to  be  highminded  men.  In 
this  connection  Baron  Pollnitz  does  not  speak  with  his  custo- 
mary assurance:^  "Whether  these  gentlemen  are  more  sober 
than  our  clergy  I  know  not ;  but  by  appearances  I  am  almost 
tempted  to  think  that  they  have  the  same  thirst  for  honor 
and  wealth,  the  same  cares  and  uneasiness;  in  fine,  that  they 
are  men  alike."  Moritz,  himself  a  clergyman  as  well  as  a 
pedagogue,  confirms  the  doubts  raised  by  Pollnitz:-  "The 
English  clergy,  especially  in  London,  are  distinguished  by  a 
very  free,  dissolute  life."  But  the  extreme  view  is  that  of 
Andreas  Riem,  who  refers  to  the  English  bishops  as  the 
"worthless  representatives  of  Christ  in  England,  villains  who 
resemble  only  one  of  the  apostles  of  the  Saviour,  the  red- 
bearded  scoundrel  who  betrayed  him."  ^  Such  statements 
are,  however,  very  rare  and  are  by  no  means  to  be  taken  as 
really  representative  of  German  opinion.  As  to  the  mental 
qualifications  of  the  clergymen  of  the  two  countries,  a  German 
correspondent  from  London  to  the  Deutsches  Museum  writes 
(May  5,  1779)^  that  "it  may  be  easier  to  find  a  man  who  knows 
the  ways  of  the  world  among  the  distinguished  English  clergy 
than  among  our  superintendents,  etc.  At  the  universities  the 
great  uniformity  of  the  social  classes,  education  and  studies, 
which  include  only  mathematics  and  belles-lettres,  is  an  advan- 
tage to  everyone.  .  .  .  But  among  the  lower  clergy,"  the 
writer  continues,  "the  vicars  and  curates  who  really  perform 
the  duties  of  the  offices,  are  found  to  be  in  England  such 
ignorant,  starving,  cringing  creatures  as  are  hardly  to  be 
met  with  in  any  other  Protestant  country."  Kiittner  says 
that  the  English  clergy  might  be  characterized  as  having  no 
distinctive  character;  that  is,  that  they  are  not  distinguished, 
as  in  other  countries,  by  a  peculiar  manner  of  life.  As  the 
chief  traits  of  their  moral  character,  he  cites  dignity  and  good- 
breeding  and,  especially,  generosity  and  tolerance.^  Else- 

1  Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  302. 

2  Reisen  eines  Deutschen,  etc.,  p.  52. 

*  Allgemeine  Liter aturzeitung.  208  Vols.  Halle,  1785-1849.  1800.  Vol. 
IV,  No.  299  (Oct.  21)  section  160. 

^Deutsches  Museum.    1779,  Vol,  II,  pt.  9,  p.  285. 

5  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  England,  etc.  i6tes  Stiick,  N.  A.  d.  B. 
Vol.  XXIX  (i797)»  pt.  2,  p.  410. 


22 


where  he  tells  us  that  the  English  clergy  is  the  most  respected 
class  of  men  he  knows  of  in  any  land,  being  even  more  highly 
regarded  than  the  nobility  of  their  country;  and  he  declares 
that,  on  the  whole,  they  are  worthy  of  the  high  esteem  in 
which  they  are  held.^ 

The  multitude  and  variety  of  religious  sects  in  England 
could  not  fail  to  attract  the  foreigner's  attention.  Gottfried 
Achenwall,  in  his  Staatsverfassung  der  heutigen  vornehmsten 
Europdischen  Reiche^  attributes  these  numerous  schisms  to 
the  Englishman's  love  of  the  freedom  to  believe  what  he 
wants  to,  and  to  confess  what  he  believes.  "Still,"  he  adds, 
"it  is  certain  that,  as  no  country  has  hatched  out  more  peculiar 
opinions  in  spiritual  matters  than  England,  no  other,  either, 
has  produced  greater  representatives  of  the  Christian  religion." 
Volkmann  expresses  the  same  opinion:^  "The  whimsical  bent 
of  the  Englishman  toward  believing  what  he  wants  to,  is 
partly  responsible  for  the  peculiar  religious  opinions  that 
some  have  advanced.  .  .  .  Yet  in  England  the  true  religion, 
too,  has  found  very  valiant  defenders." 

Of  the  diflferent  sects,  the  Methodists  come  in  for  the  largest 
share  of  attention  and  the  scantiest  of  praise.  It  may  be 
presumed  that  Germans  were  somewhat  familiar  with  the 
teachings  of  this  new  and  rapidly  growing  denomination  before 
coming  to  England,  as  the  Methodists  had  much  in  common 
with  the  Moravians  of  their  own  country.  Archenholz  in  his 
strong  commendation  of  the  Methodists  and  their  leaders 
stands  almost  alone.^  His  chief  adversary  in  this,  as  in  most 
other  matters  pertaining  to  England,  is  the  Lutheran  clergy- 
man, Wendeborn,  who  says:^  "  I  have  heard  many  Methodists 
preaching  on  the  highways  in  portable  pulpits,  and  it  has 
often  rent  my  heart,  when  I  stopped  to  listen  a  few  minutes, 
that  common  sense  and  religion  should  be  so  outraged.  .  .  . 
They  paint  man  in  such  terribly  black  colors  that,  if  what 
these  people  say  were  true,  the  thoughtful  hearer  would  ask 

1  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  Frankreich,  pp.  152-158. 

2  7th  ed.,  Gottingen.    2  pts.  in  i  Vol.    1790,  pt.  I,  p.  307. 

3  Neueste  Reisen.    Vol.  I,  p.  56. 

4  See  A  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  168,  ff. 

s  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  148.    See  also  Vol.  I,  p.  loi,  footnote. 


23 


why  the  beneficient  Creator  of  all  things  .  .  .  should  give 
existence  to  such  a  race  of  reprobates  and  monsters."  Goede, 
too,  who  has  unmitigated  praise  for  the  Presbyterians,  con- 
demns Methodism  as  a  religion  particularly  unsuited  to  the 
English  temperament.  "To  be  sure,  the  Methodists  preach 
humility,  love  of  order  and  voluntary  obedience,"  he  admits,^ 
"but  nevertheless  the  harmful  effects  of  this  gloomy  sect  on 
the  character  of  its  adherents  is  unmistakable.  The  English- 
man is  by  nature  of  a  serious  disposition.  One  may  easily 
imagine,  then,  the  evil  effect  on  him  of  a  system  of  faith  that 
damns  as  sinful  every  natural  impulse  of  joy  and  every 
cheerful  pleasure  and  makes  a  duty  of  gloomy  melancholy." 

While  the  Methodists  did  not  always  receive  the  best  of 
treatment  at  the  hands  of  German  authors,  the  Quakers  on  this 
score  had  no  grounds  for  complaint.  Goede  again  expresses 
the  general  opinion  of  German  residents  in  England  when  he 
says:^  "A  sect  which  in  England,  where  publicity  watches 
every  step  and  exposes  every  mistake,  has  steadily  maintained 
for  so  long  the  reputation  of  honesty,  respectability  and  un- 
assuming virtue,  is  certainly  far  above  the  suspicion  of 
hypocritical  sanctimoniousness. ' ' 

The  German  of  the  eighteenth  century  who  looked  into  the 
condition  of  religion  in  England  was  impressed  by  the  tolerance 
that  prevailed  throughout  the  various  sects.  He  found  that 
Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Independents,  Qua- 
kers, Jews  and  all  the  others,  performed  the  interrelated  tasks 
of  their  business  and  professional  life  without  friction,  that 
they  dwelt  together  as  neighbors  and  extended  each  other  the 
hand  as  friends  without  concerning  themselves  about  differ- 
ences in  creed. 

1  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  197. 
3  ibid.,  p.  202. 


CHAPTER  III 


ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS 

The  industrial  and  commercial  importance  of  England  was 
already  beginning  to  loom  large  in  the  eyes  of  Germany  by 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  for  many  decades 
Great  Britain's  material  progress  was  regarded  by  the  Germans 
as  a  benefit  rather  than  a  menace  to  other  nations.  It  was  to 
England  that  Germany  turned  for  her  early  lessons  in  indus- 
trial development,  and  English  wares  were  held  in  the  highest 
esteem  on  the  Continent.  Nearly  a  half  century  after  the 
close  of  the  period  under  our  consideration  [1842]  Friedrich 
von  Raumer  could  still  write  of  England's  economic  advance- 
ment as  an  unmitigated  blessing  to  the  world "England  is 
the  first  kingdom,  comprising  the  whole  earth,  uniting  all 
nations.  However,  her  chief  importance  and  value  does  not 
lie  in  her  geographic  expansion,  but  in  the  highest  material 
activity,  connected  with  scientific  progress  and  praiseworthy 
zeal  for  religious  development.  England  is  the  eye  of  the 
spirit  which  turns  toward  all  corners  of  the  earth,  active  in  all 
zones,  preparing  a  noble  future  for  mankind."  But  that 
England  did  not  seek  the  participation  of  mankind  in  the 
preparation  of  this  noble  future,  that  her  great  commercial 
activity  was  not  the  outcome  of  an  altruistic  spirit,  was 
already  clearly  recognized  by  Schiller:^ 

Seine  Handelsflotten  streckt  der  Brite 
Gierig  wie  Polypenarme  aus, 
Und  das  Reich  der  freien  Amphitrite 
Will  er  schliessen  wie  sein  eignes  Haus. 

Friedrich  Wilhelm  Taube,  an  early  German  economist, 
finds  in  her  material  prosperity  the  secret  of  England's  great- 

^  England.    3  Vols.    Leipzig,  1842.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  7. 

2  "Der  Antritt  des  neuen  Jahrhunderts."  Sdmt.  Werke.  Sakular-Ausg. 
Vol.  I,  p.  155. 

24 


25 


ness:^  "By  means  of  nothing  else  than  the  improvement  and 
encouragement  of  agriculture  and  industry,  England  has  risen 
in  a  period  of  two  hundred  years  to  the  power  and  greatness 
in  which  we  now  see  her." 

German  writers  have  no  difficulty  in  pointing  out  the  causes 
of  English  supremacy  in  industry  and  commerce.  Friedrich 
von  Gentz,2  who  is  the  partisan  of  the  English  against  French 
charges  of  corrupt  policies  in  their  commercial  relations  with 
other  countries,  shows  that  the  principles  which  determine  the 
superiority  of  Great  Britain  in  European  manufacture  are 
twofold,  partaking  of  both  a  positive  and  a  negative  character. 
Among  the  positive  causes  of  British  economic  prosperity 
he  cites^  "the  incomparable  activity  of  the  English  nation, 
the  extent  of  its  capital,  its  wonderful  improvements  in  all 
kinds  of  machinery,  the  great  expertness  of  its  navigators, 
the  labors  of  a  government  studious  of  its  real  interests,  the 
excellence  of  its  internal  constitution,  its  political  and  indi- 
vidual character."  Another  cause  he  finds  in  the  intrinsic 
superiority  of  the  products  of  the  nation's  industry.  Nega- 
tively, he  attributes  English  supremacy  to^  "the  comparative 
weakness  and  indolence  of  other  nations,  their  ignorance  of 
political  economy,  their  neglect  of  many  branches  of  industry 
and  their  necessary  dependence  on  the  activity  of  foreigners, 
consequences  of  their  own  faults."  This  second  factor  in 
England's  industrial  progress  had  already  been  pointed  out 
by  various  German  writers,  among  them  Taube,  who  said:^ 
"The  inefficiency,  laziness  and  sleepiness  of  other  nations 
busies  so  many  hands  in  England  that  one  does  not  know 
whether  to  wonder  more  at  the  idleness  of  the  former  or  the 
industry  of  the  latter." 

To  the  excellence  of  English  wares  German  writers  testify 

^  Abschilderung  der  engldndischen  Manufacturen,  Handlung,  Schiffart  und 
Colonien.    Wien,  1777.    pt.  i,  p.  60. 

2  For  an  interesting  account  of  the  English  influence  on  Gentz,  see  F.  Braune : 
Edmund  Burke  in  Deutschland.    Heidelberg,  1917.    pp.  139-181. 

2  On  the  State  of  Europe  before  and  after  the  French  Revolution,  trans,  from  the 
German  by  John  C.  Herries.    London,  1802.    p.  323  (German  original,  1801). 

4  ibid.,  p.  340. 

6  Abschilderung  der  engldndischen  Manufacturen,  etc.    p.  59. 


26 


without  a  dissenting  voice.  In  the  Teutscher  Merkur  for 
January^  1798  we  read  in  a  letter  from  a  German  resident  of 
London  that  every  pursuit  which  in  other  countries  is  merely 
an  acquired  trade  is  in  England  an  art  in  itself,  as  no  one 
cares  to  be  a  ''low  mechanic."  Achenwall  pronounces  the 
Englishman  the  best  artisan  in  the  world ,2  "for  he  works  so 
that  he  will  be  satisfied  with  what  he  produces  and  always 
gives  to  his  work  the  highest  degree  of  perfection  that  he  has 
once  learned  and  attained.  And  as  the  Frenchman  seeks 
to  enhance  the  external  value  of  his  commodities  by  all 
kinds  of  adornment,  the  Englishman  strives  to  give  to  his, 
by  means  of  the  utmost  exactness  and  durability,  a  less 
transient  internal  value."  This  persistent  striving  after  per- 
fection and  dissatisfaction  with  anything  short  of  the  best  is  a 
characteristic  of  the  British  artisan  and  artist  that  Kiittner, 
too,  commends  to  his  countrymen.  A  telescope-maker  like 
Ramsey,  he  tells  us,^  demands  for  a  telescope  "a  price  which 
deafens  the  ears"  and  from  which  there  is  not  a  shilling's 
reduction,  but  this  same  Ramsey  does  not  hesitate  to  smash 
an  instrument  worth  thirty  or  forty  pounds  if  it  fails  to  come 
up  to  his  standard  of  absolute  perfection. 

Nemnich,  before  the  elaboration  of  his  Waaren-Lexikon, 
intended  for  publication  in  twelve  languages,  realized  that  his 
work  would  lack  completeness,  unless  he  undertook  a  trip  to 
England,  "the  present  seat  of  the  most  highly  developed 
industry,  in  order  to  learn  everything  at  first  hand."  ^  Ac- 
cordingly he  made  the  voyage  in  1797.  He  marveled  at  the 
high  state  in  which  he  found  English  manufacture.  "How 
wonderful  is  this  unique  island!"  he  exclaims.^  "All  the 
innumerable  articles  of  necessity  and  luxury  produced  accord- 
ing to  the  most  complete,  attractive  and  tasteful  design,  all 
the  commodities  which,  from  shop  to  shop,  offer  new  charms  to 
the  wondering  stranger,  are  not  of  foreign  manufacture,  but 
are  genuine  products  of  British  national  industry." 

'  p.  83. 

2  Staatsverfassung  der  .  .  .  Europdischen  Reiche,  Ft.  I,  p.  319. 
^  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  England,  etc.    7tes  Stiick,  N.  A.  d.  B.» 
Vol.  XI  (1794).  Pt.  I.  p.  75- 

4  N.  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  LVI  (1801),  pt.  I,  p.  243. 
^  Neueste  Reise,  etc.,  p.  181. 


27 


Another  of  the  causes  frequently  mentioned  as  contributing 
to  England's  success  in  industry  is  the  workman's  content- 
ment with  his  lot  and  his  inclination  to  seek  advancement  by 
excelling  at  his  own  trade  rather  than  by  exploring  new  fields. 
On  this  point  Kiittner  says:^  "Nowhere  is  the  craftsman  less 
infected  by  the  folly  of  abandoning  his  position  for  a  higher 
one  than  in  England.  To  earn  as  much  money  as  possible 
and  to  procure  for  himself  an  independent  fortune  is  his 
ambition,  and  toward  this  goal  he  considers  the  way  best 
which  his  father  traversed  before  him.  Such  craftsmen  are 
still  to  be  found  on  the  Continent  only  at  Basel." 

Eighteenth  century  Germans  generally  agreed,  it  seems, 
that  England's  chief  merit  in  the  realm  of  industry  did  not 
consist  in  inventive  genius,  but  in  perfecting  the  processes 
invented  by  others.^  Even  Biischel,  an  avowed  friend  of  the 
British,  rates  England  second  to  France  in  creative  ability, 
but  declares  that  it  is  the  English  who  first  bring  everything 
to  perfection.^  Goede,  however,  dissents  entirely  from  this 
opinion.*  To  him  it  would  seem  that  the  possibilities  of 
human  inventiveness  were  already  exhausted,  if  every-day 
experience  in  England  did  not  prove  man's  ingenuity  to  be 
boundless. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  Germany  was  quick  to 
profit  by  the  industrial  progress  of  Great  Britain.  We  have 
seen  that  Achenwall,  looking  on  England  as  the  great  labora- 
tory of  practical  economics,  made  a  tour  of  the  country  in 
1799  in  the  interest  of  science.  But  long  before  this  Germany 
had  begun  to  send  investigators  to  England  to  study  in  the 
factories  the  latest  manufacturing  processes  with  a  view  to 
their  introduction  into  German  industry.  Such,  for  instance, 
were  the  two  young  economists,  Reisel  and  Miiller,  sent  to 
England  in  1765  by  Minister  von  Schlaberndorf  of  Breslau 
"in  order  to  collect  for  their  Fatherland  valuable  data  on 
agriculture  and  manufacture."  ^    In  fact,  the  German  in 

^  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  England,  etc.  A.d.B.  Vol.  CX  (1792), 
pt.  I,  p.  216. 

2  Cf.  Wendeborn:  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  276. 

^  Neue  Reisen,  etc.,  p.  221. 

*  England,  etc.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  i6o. 

^  For  their  report  see  Bernoulli's  Sammlung  kurzer  Reisebesckreibungen. 
Vol.  XIII,  p.  325. 


28 


England  seems  to  have  made  it  a  point  to  learn,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  own  country,  as  much  as  possible  about  English  industry. 
That  he  met  with  no  particular  difficulty  in  accomplishing 
this  purpose  is  attested  by  one  Biisch,  who  visited  England 
toward  the  close  of  the  century:^  ''As  the  British  are  so  glad 
to  accept  German  workmen  in  their  shops,  it  is  not  easily 
possible  to  prevent  the  disclosure  of  their  inventions."  With 
very  few  exceptions,  however,  German  visitors  found  that  the 
English  made  no  effort  to  keep  their  manufacturing  processes 
secret,  but  willingly  shared  their  superior  knowledge  with  the 
foreigner.^  Germans  were  not  without  appreciation  of  the 
benefits  which  England's  commercial  ascendency  yielded  them, 
if  we  may  take  as  representative  the  attitude  of  Friedrich 
von  Gentz,  who  says:^  ''All  Europe  is  extremely  interested  in 
the  existence  of  a  people  among  whom  industry  and  ingenuity 
have  been  carried  to  so  wonderful  an  extent;  by  whom  numer- 
ous objects  of  general  consumption  are  provided  comparatively 
cheap  and  of  excellent  quality;  and  whose  astonishing  activity 
affords  a  striking,  and  not  always  fruitless  example  to  other 
countries.  The  commercial  greatness  of  England  is,  in  all 
these  respects,  a  manifest  advantage  to  Europe." 

It  might  seem  that  a  consideration  of  the  Britisher's  com- 
m.ercial  spirit  and  his  love  of  wealth  and  luxury  should  be 
taken  up  in  our  study  of  his  character,  but  as  these  qualities 
of  the  inhabitants  are  so  closely  connected  with  the  industrial 
system  of  the  country  it  is  perhaps  best  to  consider  them  here. 
Archenholz  tells  us  that^  "no  part  of  Europe  exhibits  such 
luxury  and  magnificence  as  the  English  display  within  the 
walls  of  their  dwelling  houses."  Even  the  workingman,  ac- 
cording to  our  German  sources,  had  in  England  a  higher 
standard  of  living  than  in  any  other  country  and  was  unwilling 
to  deprive  himself  of  the  comforts  of  life,  although  his  deter- 
mination to  satisfy  his  material  demands  often  reduced  him  to 
pauperism.^    Klinger,  who,  with  the  exception  of  Andreas 

1  Allgemeine  deutsche  Bibliothek.    Vol.  LXXIII  (1787),  pt.  i,  p.  229. 

2  See,  for  instance,  Nemnich:  Neueste  Reise,  etc.,  p.  83. 

3  On  the  State  of  Europe,  etc.,  p.  347. 

Picture  of  England,  Vol.  I,  p.  130. 
^  See  Weech,  J.  F.:  Reise  iiher  England  und  Portugal  nach  Brasilien  und  den 


29 


Riem,  seems  to  be  the  most  anti-British  German  up  to  his 
time,  accuses  the  English  of  crass  commerciaHsm :^  "In 
England  one  now  speaks  of  nothing  but  trade;  certain  other 
words  which  were  formerly  sometimes  heard  there,  are  entirely 
obsolete.  I  expect  that  trade  will  soon  be  preached  from  the 
pulpits  there  as  the  sole  doctrine  of  happiness  and  salvation." 
This  passage  has  a  strangely  modern  ring,  and  still  more  do 
the  following  words  from  Karl  August  von  Rade's  England  in 
seiner  tiefsten  Erniedrigung^  seem  to  come  from  the  Germany 
of  1914:  ''According  to  their  way  of  putting  it,  the  British, 
to  be  sure,  are  'worth'  a  good  deal,  because  they  possess 
immense  riches,  but  the  philosopher  and  the  historian  will 
not  measure  them  by  this  standard.  On  the  contrary,  their 
treasures  will  be  considered  the  irritamenta  malorum,  which 
have  reduced  them  to  such  degradation."  Goede  had  already 
brought  the  same  charge  against  the  English,  though  in 
somewhat  milder  terms :^  "Many  individual  traits  in  the 
life  of  the  English  people  seem  to  confirm  the  judgment  of 
those  who  accuse  them  of  a  passionate  Geldsucht  and  a  petty, 
contemptible,  striving  for  gain.  The  question,  'what  is  a 
man  worth?'  does  not  refer,  according  to  the  English  usage, 
to  his  merit  but  to  his  fortune."  We  find  frequent  expression 
of  the  belief  on  the  part  of  German  students  of  English  civiliza- 
tion in  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  country  was  facing 
ruin  and  dire  calamity,  brought  on  by  an  excess  of  prosperity. 
Even  in  the  Deutsches  Museum ^  a  periodical  into  which  an 
adverse  criticism  of  England  seldom  finds  its  way,  we  read 
thaf^  "Great  Britain  is  nearing  the  point  at  which  Rome  stood 

vereinigten  Staaten  des  La  Plaia-Stromes  wdhrend  den  Jahren  1823  his  1827. 
(3  Vols,  in  2,  Miinchen,  1831.)  Vol.  I,  p.  55,  for  an  interesting  discussion 
of  this  subject. 

^  Betrachtungen  und  Gedanken  iiber  verschiedene  Gegenstdnde,  1 801-1802. 
Sdmmtliche  Werke.  12  Vols,  in  6.  Stuttgart  und  Tubingen,  1842.  Vol.  XI, 
pt.  I,  p.  39. 

2  Miinchen  and  Berlin,  1915.  p.  71.  A  reprint  of  a  work  which  appeared 
anonymously  in  1808.  We  might  suspect  this  entire  volume  to  be  modern 
anti- British  propaganda,  if  the  mention  of  the  original  in  Holzmann  und 
Bohatta's  Anonymenlexikon  did  not  preclude  such  a  view. 

3  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  326. 
4 1779,  Vol.  I,  pt.  II,  p.  loi. 


30 


when  Asia  was  plundered.  Her  triumphs  in  the  recent  war, 
her  conquest  of  India,  have  spread  wealth  and  corrupt  cus- 
toms, luxury  and  arrogance.  The  heroism  of  a  nation  is 
strengthened  by  resistance  and  weakens,  once  its  ambitions 
are  realized.  This  state  has  reached  the  point  of  maturity 
which  borders  on  decay." 

The  English  kings,  however,  were  not  inclined  to  participate 
in  the  extravagance  and  luxury  of  their  people.  German 
visitors  to  the  court  usually  expressed  their  surprise  at  finding 
royalty  so  poorly  housed.  Archenholz  is  one  of  those  who 
give  us  their  impression  of  the  king's  surroundings:^  "No 
sovereign  in  Europe  is  so  badly  lodged,  keeps  so  poor  a  table 
or  sacrifices  so  little  to  his  pleasure.  The  economy  of  the 
court  is  such  that  I  myself  was  present  at  a  ball  at  St.  James 
when  the  apartments  were  lighted  with  tallow  candles,  which 
were  banished  long  since  from  all  the  genteel  houses  in 
London."  ^ 

It  is  true  that  no  foreigner  could  come  into  contact  with  the 
British  in  the  eighteenth  century  without  observing  their 
great  eagerness  to  acquire  wealth,  but  in  the  opinion  of  many 
of  the  German  visitors  the  wise  and  beneficent  use  of  the 
riches  accumulated  redeemed  the  commercial  spirit  of  the 
people.  Archenholz  again  speaks  for  a  large  element  of  his 
countrymen  when  he  says:^  "  In  all  countries  there  are  count- 
less examples  of  a  union  between  wealth  and  stupidity;  in 
England,  on  the  contrary,  where  money  and  honor  are  so 
often  the  fruits  of  talent  and  knowledge,  the  employment 
which  the  rich  make  of  their  treasures  is  ample  proof  that  an 
alliance  is  possible  also  between  bounty  and  common  sense." 

1  A  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  34. 

2  Cf.  Pollnitz,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  278,  for  a  similar  view  regarding  George  II. 
Archenholz  is  writing  here  of  George  III. 

^  Annalen  der  brittischen  Geschichte  des  Jahres  1788-96,  hrsg.  von  J,  W.  von 
Archenholz.  20  Vols.  Braunschweig  (Vol.  I).  Hamburg  (Vol.  II-XI). 
Tubingen  (Vol.  XII-XX).    Vol.  I,  p.  298. 


CHAPTER  IV 


ENGLISH  CULTURE 

The  intellectual  life  of  the  English  in  the  eighteenth  century 
was  on  the  whole  scarcely  less  remarkable  to  the  contemporary 
foreigner  than  their  material  progress.  In  literature,  in  philos- 
ophy and  in  the  sciences,  as  in  industry,  England  was  recog- 
nized as  a  country  of  the  greatest  enlightenment,  and  many 
important  intellectual  currents  of  eighteenth  century  Germany 
may  be  traced  directly  to  an  English  source.  Not  in  all 
fields,  however,  were  the  achievements  of  British  culture 
equally  noteworthy.  In  the  fine  arts,  for  instance,  England 
was  not  abreast  of  the  other  leading  European  countries; 
even  her  warmest  admirers  could  not  claim  that  she  surpassed 
them  in  sculpture,  painting  and  music.  Wendeborn  probably 
expresses  the  general  opinion  prevalent  on  the  Continent, 
when  he  says  of  the  English:^  "It  is  admitted  that,  with 
compass  and  ruler  at  hand,  they  are  good  craftsmen,  but  no 
one  will  admit  that  they  have  taste  and  genius  for  the  fine 
arts.  They  can  calculate  well,  but  their  imaginative  powers 
are  said  to  be  lifeless  and  their  feelings  for  the  artistically 
beautiful,  extremely  dull."  Wendeborn,  however,  does  not 
consider  the  outlook  for  art  in  England  altogether  black,  for 
he  adds:  "There  are  now  a  few  excellent  masters  of  painting 
among  the  English,  a  few  good  engravers,  architects  and  others 
who  are  a  credit  to  the  arts.  The  future  may  produce  still 
more."  To  Volkmann  the  progress  of  England  in  the  arts 
seemed  very  rapid:  "It  was  scarcely  fifty  years  ago,"  he 
observes ,2  "that  the  English  raised  themselves  from  medioc- 
rity, but  now  they  are  hastening  all  the  more  rapidly  toward 
perfection  and  are  already  overtaking  other  nations  which 
formerly  accused  them  of  a  total  lack  of  artistic  ability." 
England's  chief  contribution  to  the  cause  of  art  is  held  to 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol,  IV,  pp.  350-351. 

2  Neueste  Reisen  durch  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  loi. 

4  31 


32 


come  not  from  the  creative  genius  of  her  artists,  but  from  the 
generosity  of  her  men  of  means.  Through  the  erection  of 
public  monuments  to  commemorate  the  deeds  of  her  great 
men,  through  rewards  offered  by  private  citizens  to  stimulate 
artists  to  their  best  efforts,  through  collections  of  antiques, 
or  at  least  copies  of  the  classics,  in  all  branches  of  art  and 
finally  through  the  encouragement  and  protection  given  to 
her  own  artists,  England  fulfills  her  artistic  mission.  In  view 
of  all  this,  Georg  Forster  declares  that,^  "in  comparison  with 
her  contemporaries,  England  alone  has  done  more  for  the 
advancement  of  painting  and  sculpture,  more  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  artists  themselves  than  all  the  rest  of  Europe 
together." 

Various  causes  were  given  for  England's  backwardness  in 
the  arts.  Winckelmann,  observing  that  the  warmest  regions 
of  Italy  produced  the  greatest  artists,  inclined  to  the  opinion 
that  the  climate  was  too  cold  for  genius  to  thrive  in  England  ;2 
but  this  theory  failed  to  satisfy  the  majority  of  his  country- 
men, and  other  explanations  were  sought.  Eschenburg  held 
the  church  largely  responsible  for  England's  failure  to  take 
her  place  beside  Italy  in  the  world  of  art:^  "The  Reformation 
of  England  coincided  precisely  with  the  most  flourishing  period 
of  Italian  art,  and  the  sternness  with  which  they  resisted  there 
[in  England],  more  than  in  Teutonic  countries,  the  representa- 
tion in  art  of  subjects  from  biblical  history  and  legend,  two 
such  fruitful  sources  of  the  artist's  material  in  Italy  and 
France,  this  sternness  and  the  prevailing  opposition  to  all 
artistic  decoration  of  churches,  which  continued  long  after- 
wards and  received  new  strength  from  Puritanism,  seems  to 
have  been  one  of  the  chief  hindrances  to  artistic  taste  and  its 
earlier  dissemination  in  England."  Wendeborn  subscribes  to 
the  explanation  of  England's  artistic  sterility  which,  he  states, 
is  advanced  by  the  English  themselves;  namely,  that  the 
national  character  of  the  people  was  already  definitely  moulded 

1  "Geschichte  der  Kunst  in  England."  Ansichten,  etc.  Sdmmtliche  Schrif- 
ten.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  484- 

2  Geschichte  der  Kunst  des  Alterthums.    Dresden,  1764-    Part  I,  p.  19. 

^  Annalen  der  hrittischen  Geschichte  des  Jahres  (!)  1788-Q6.  Vol.  XL  Ham- 
burg, 1795.    p.  307. 


33 


before  they  began  the  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts.^  Further- 
more, Freedom,  according  to  the  same  critic,  is  not  the 
patroness  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  He  points  to  Greece, 
Italy  and  France  in  order  to  prove  that  genius  has  been  most 
productive  during  the  periods  of  the  greatest  governmental 
tyranny  and  oppression.  Freedom,  he  holds,  is  most  favorable 
to  trade  and  commerce  and  leads  to  the  accumulation  of  great 
wealth,  which  blinds  its  possessor  to  the  merits  of  the  man  of 
learning  and  talents.^ 

As  the  eighteenth  century  advanced,  the  German  tourist  in 
England  found  much  to  occupy  his  attention  in  the  public 
and  pHvate  art  collections.  Volkmann,  whose  chief  object 
in  visiting  England  in  1761  was  to  inspect  these  treasures,  says 
in  the  introduction  to  his  Neueste  Reisen  durch  England:^ 
"The  English  have  collected  at  astonishing  expense  such 
treasures  of  art  in  this  century  that  half  Italy  is  now  found 
transplanted,  so  to  speak,  into  their  country."  But  Wende- 
born  claims  that  very  little  general  advantage  was  derived 
from  the  private  collections:^  "I  have  often  had  occasion  to 
observe  that  in  England  the  owners  of  such  collections,  on 
account  of  their  avarice  and  selfishness,  are  not  inclined  to 
share  them  with  others."  This  opiiiion  is  rather  isolated,  for 
the  German  visitor  usually  found  ready  access  to  the  art 
collections,  as  well  as  to  the  manufacturing  plants  of  England. 
Goede,  for  instance,  is  not  in  agreement  with  this  last  men- 
tioned critic:^  ''A  foreigner  meets  with  no  difficulty  in  seeing 
the  art  collections  of  the  English,  who  in  this  respect  are  very 
obliging." 

That  England's  attainments  in  sculpture  were  inferior  to 
those  in  all  other  fields  seems  to  be  the  consensus  of  German 
opinion.  Pollnitz  has  comments  to  this  effect,^  and  Schiitz, 
a  much  later  visitor  to  England,  found  several  monuments  at 

^  Zustand  des  Staats,  etc.    Vol.  IV,  p.  352. 

2  ibid.,  p.  355- 

3  p.  ii. 

4  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  IV,  p.  360. 

6  England,  Wales,  Irland  und  Schottland.    Vol.  IV,  p.  10.    See  also  Volk- 
mann: Neueste  Reisen,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  ii,  if. 
«  Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  267. 


34 


Westminster  Abbey  which  he  considered  proofs  of  the  poorest 
taste  in  sculpture.^  Georg  Forster  finds  the  explanation  of 
the  backward  state  of  this  art  in  England  in  the  physical 
make-up  of  the  people "The  Briton,  whose  nourishment  is 
chiefly  meat  and  strong  beer,  becomes  corpulent,  flabby  and 
fat  and,  consequently,  does  not  present  such  clear-cut,  tense 
muscles  as  the  body  of  the  extremely  frugal,  lean,  unen- 
cumbered Southern  European.  ...  A  direct  consequence  of 
this  difference  in  customs  and  physique  is  the  inaccuracy  of 
outline  of  which  British  artists  are  so  often  and  so  justly 
accused:  a  fault  which  the  most  careful  execution  of  their 
otherwise  well  formed  academic  figures  can  not  correct.  No 
wonder,  then,"  he  concludes,  "that  among  the  creative  arts 
in  England  sculpture  shows  the  lowest  degree  of  perfection." 

As  for  the  achievements  of  the  English  in  painting,  the 
Germans  were  inclined  to  value  them  somewhat  more  highly. 
Painting  had  many  more  devotees  in  England  than  sculpture, 
and  Forster  brands  as  false  the  frequent  assertion  that  "the 
English  knew  absolutely  nothing  about  the  merits  of  a  paint- 
ing, but  were  regularly  deceived  in  this  respect  by  money- 
seeking  impostors."  In  portrait  painting,  especially,  the 
English  were  admitted  to  excel,  due,  in  part,  it  was  held,  to 
their  mania  for  seeing  themselves  represented  on  canvas; 
and  in  landscape  painting  they  were  not  without  merit;  but, 
again,  according  to  Forster,^  "when  it  comes  to  portraying 
gods  and  heroes,  human  nature  conceived  in  the  perfection 
of  the  possible,  or  even  caught  at  the  highest  degree  of  beauty 
in  the  real,  they  are  still  far  from  the  goal."  ^ 

The  writer  of  an  anonymous  letter  from  London  published 
in  the  Bihliothek  der  schdnen  Wissenschaften  und  der  freien 

1  Neue  Allgemeine  deutsche  Bihliothek.    Vol.  V  (1793),  pt.  i,  p.  279. 

2  Geschichte  der  Kunst  in  England,  p.  452. 

3  ibid.,  p.  459. 

4  This  unfavorable  view  persisted  into  the  nineteenth  century.  Heine,  for 
instance,  was  rather  more  severe  than  his  predecessors  as  a  critic  of  English  art : 
"There  is  one  thing  in  which  the  English  are  as  ridiculous  bunglers  as  in  music; 
that  is,  in  painting.  They  have  excelled  only  in  portraits,  and  only  when  they 
execute  the  portrait  with  the  burin,  not  in  colors,  do  they  surpass  the  rest  of 
Europe."  (Englische  Fragmente.  Sdmmtlicke  Werke.  Hamburg,  1876.  Vol. 
HI.  p.  190.) 


35 


Kiinste^  in  1761  testifies  to  the  excellence  of  English  copper 
engravings:  "To  your  question  as  to  the  state  of  the  art  of 
engraving  in  London  I  think  I  can  reply  confidently  that  this 
art  at  present  has  masters  whose  works  refute  the  former 
impression  of  England's  inferiority  in  this  respect  to  other 
nations."  As  such  masters  the  writer  mentions  Robert 
Strange,  Frye,  Ardell  and  Hogarth.  Wendeborn,  too,  admits 
that  England  has  made  some  progress  in  this  art,  but  he 
reminds  us  that  the  best  of  the  copper  and  steel  engravings 
produced  in  England  are  the  works  of  foreigners. ^ 

German  visitors  did  not  fail  to  notice  the  peculiar  position 
of  music  in  English  cultural  life.  The  average  Englishman  of 
intelligence  was  found  to  be  very  fond  of  music,  but  totally 
devoid  of  anything  like  real  musical  appreciation.^  Forster 
describes  the  situation  as  follows:^  "The  English  people  are 
not  musical,  and  their  national  music,  if  their  street  songs 
may  be  reckoned  as  such,  is  by  no  means  admirable.  Since 
the  introduction  of  German  and  Italian  music  there  has  been, 
to  be  sure,  no  lack  of  competent  critics  .  .  .;  but  the  native 
composers  are  still  rare  and  of  no  especial  merit."  Goede  is 
one  of  those  who  comment  on  the  enthusiasm  of  the  English 
for  music,  but  even  he — though  usually  their  partisan — does 
not  claim  for  them  any  great  discrimination  in  musical  taste  :^ 
"If  one  may  judge  by  outward  appearances,  no  other  fine  art 
has  so  many  devotees  in  England  as  music.  A  passionate 
love  of  music  is  observed  particularly  among  the  lower  classes. 
Every  hurdy-gurdy  in  the  London  streets,  no  matter  how 
unmusical  its  tone,  lures  the  English  populace  from  all  corners, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  the  wandering  musician  sees  himself 
surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  dirty  listeners,  who  drink  in  with 
joyful  enthusiasm  the  harmonies  of  his  instrument." 

1  12  Vols.    Leipzig,  1757-65.    Vol.  VII  (1761),  pt.  2,  p.  369. 

2  Wendeborn  exerts  himself  to  safeguard  the  reputation  of  foreigners  in 
England  and  to  see  to  it  that  none  of  their  achievements  be  attributed  to  the 
native  Englishman.  See,  for  instance,  Zustand,  etc.  Vol.  IV,  p.  390,  p.  400, 
p.  422. 

3  See  review  of  Sittengemdlde  von  London.  N.  A.  d.  B.,  Vol.  LXXVII  (1803), 
pt.  I,  p.  150. 

*  Geschichte  der  Kunst  in  England,  p.  496. 
^England,  etc.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  155. 


36 


The  eighteenth  century  German's  impression  of  the  English- 
man as  a  devotee  of  music  could  hardly  be  better  expressed 
than  in  the  words  of  a  modern  writer,  Fontane — and  inci- 
dentally it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  German  opinion  on 
this  point  undergoes  little  change :i  "Music,  as  everyone 
knows,  is  England's  heel  of  Achilles.  When  one  realizes  with 
what  musical  monstrosities  the  English  ear  allows  itself  to 
be  regaled  from  morning  to  night,  one  might  well  be  inclined 
to  deny  the  Englishman  all  sense  of  harmony.  .  .  .  However, 
it  is  not  to  be  taken  from  the  circumstance  of  the  Englishman's 
lacking  a  musical  ear  that  he  does  not  delight  in  music;  on 
the  other  hand,  the  old  adage  is  again  established  that  man 
cultivates  most  enthusiastically  those  talents  with  which  the 
gods  endowed  him  most  sparingly." 

For  English  architecture,  likewise,  the  Germans  had  but 
scant  praise.  According  to  Forster,  "most  modern  buildings 
in  England  sin,  in  their  proportions,  against  all  rules  of 
architecture."  ^  Here  Moritz  is  almost  alone  with  his  favor- 
able criticism.  Upon  his  arrival  in  the  first  village  he  visited 
he  was  agreeably  surprised  at  the^  "extraordinary  neatness 
in  the  structure  of  the  houses,  which  are  built  of  red  brick 
and  have  flat  roofs."  Baron  Bielfeld,  who  was  delighted 
with  the  "elegant  simplicity  and  more  solid  than  glaring 
magnificence"  of  the  interior  of  the  English  homes  he  visited, 

wrote  to  Baron  von  K  in  Berlin,  as  follows:^  "The  houses, 

even  those  inhabited  by  the  nobility,  have  externally  but  a 
mean  appearance,  and  the  smoke  of  the  coals  gives  them  a 
black  and  disagreeable  look."  Biischel,  too,  gives  an  adverse 
criticism  of  English  architecture:^  "  I  do  not  like  the  structure 
of  the  houses;  they  are  built  of  nothing  but  brick  and,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  of  the  greatest  palaces,  are  not  even 
painted." 

But  landscape  gardening  as  found  in  eighteenth  century 

1  Ein  Sommer  in  London.  Aus  England  und  Schottland.  Berlin,  1900, 
p.  24. 

^  Ansichten,  etc.,  p.  413. 

3  Reisen  eines  Deutschen,  etc.    p.  7. 

*  Letters.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  61 — London,  Feb.  7,  1741. 

6  Neue  Reisen,  etc.    p.  36. 


37 


England  did  strike  German  visitors  as  a  fine  art.  Volkmann 
describes  it  as^  "the  art  of  converting  every  spot  into  a  beauti- 
ful portrait  of  nature  and  of  producing,  on  an  elevated  surface, 
if  possible,  such  effects,  by  means  of  the  relative  location  of 
shrubbery,  lagoons,  turf  and  buildings,  that  one  is  carried 
continually  from  one  charming  scene  to  another."  Nor  was 
it  in  Germany  alone  that  English  landscape  gardening  was 
highly  esteemed;  all  over  the  Continent  English  taste  in  this 
field  was  regarded  as  the  criterion,  and  full  credit  was  given  to 
England  for  the  development  of  the  art.  Hirschfeld,  the  first 
Germ.an  theorist  on  this  subject,^  says:^  "The  Briton  was 
not  only  the  first  to  attempt  to  formulate  the  true  principles  of 
horticulture  in  various  writings,  but  he  was  also  the  first  to 
make  of  them  a  successful  application."  Volkmann  considers 
a  visit  to  England  essential  to  anyone  who  wishes  to  cultivate 
his  taste  in  gardening,  and  Biischel  is  moved  to  exclaim:* 
"Who  could  find  fault  with  this  taste,  which  pays  homage  to 
the  mother  of  us  all  and  silently  testifies  to  the  perfection  of 
her  works;  which  subordinates  to  her  the  works  of  man  and 
resorts  to  the  latter  only  to  intensify  her  beauties,  which 
imitates  her  crudeness,  her  gradual  adornment,  her  perfection, 
and  confines  all  the  endless  nuances  in  which  she  appears 
throughout  the  world  into  a  little  spot,  which  seems  to  call  to 
every  new-comer:  'Approach  with  reverence;  thou  enterest 
the  temple  of  a  divinity!'" 

That  the  owner  of  almost  every  German  estate  of  any  im- 
portance could  boast,  by  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  of 
an  English  garden,  or  at  least  of  something  that  resembled  one, 
is  amply  attested.^  This  particular  symptom  of  anglomania 
met  with  considerable  opposition  in  Germany.  Hirschfeld, 
though  enthusiastic  in  his  commendation  of  the  English 
garden,  believed  that  the  Germans,  in  horticulture  as  in 
everything  else,  should  exercise  their  own  originality:  " When- 

^  Neueste  Reisen,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  no. 

2  See  Allgemeine  Deutsche  Biographic.    Vol.  L.    (Nachtrage),  p.  336. 
^  Anmerkungen  iiber  die  Landhauser  und  die  Gartenkunst.    Leipzig,  1773. 
p.  74- 

*  Neue  Reisen,  etc.    p.  155. 

5  See  Der  Neue  teutsche  Merkiir.    1797.    Vol.  2  (July),  p.  329. 


38 


ever  parks  were  to  be  constructed  of  considerable  size  and  at 
a  certain  expense,"  he  states,^  "British  gardeners  were  called 
not  only  to  France,  but  to  Germany  as  well.  Nothing  was 
more  natural  than  for  them  to  reproduce  on  German  soil  the 
ideas  they  had  followed,  or  had  seen  executed,  in  their  native 
country.  We  received  copies,  not  originals.  Would  it  not 
have  been  better  for  us  to  consult  native  connoisseurs  or  to 
devise  original  plans  for  parks  as  the  result  of  careful  reflection 
and  study  than  to  follow  the  caprice  of  a  foreign,  often  in- 
capable gardener,  who  on  receiving  his  wages  invariably 
laughed  at  the  stupid  good  nature  of  the  German?" 

Johann  Georg  Jacobi,  discussing  this  subject  at  considerable 
length ,2  declares  he  would  not  have  an  English  garden,  even 
if  he  were  a  young  man  and  could  afford  the  necessary  expense. 
The  pavilions  representing  various  styles  of  architecture  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  and  the  substitution  of  beeches,  oaks 
and  poplars  for  the  more  useful  fruit  trees  are  the  features  to 
which  he  objects  most  seriously.  Besides,  as  the  private 
property  of  wealthy  individuals,  he  finds  such  gardens  too 
lifeless;  he  misses  in  them  the  reaper  binding  his  sheaves  or 
carrying  home  his  harvest  with  a  song  on  his  lips,  and  the 
weary  traveler  refreshing  himself  under  the  trees.  Justus 
Moser,  whose  residence  in  England  just  after  the  close  of 
the  Seven  Years'  War  played  an  important  part  in  his  intel- 
lectual development,  satirizes  in  an  interesting  sketch^  the 
mania  for  English  gardens.  The  satire  is  in  the  form  of  a 
letter  from  Anglomania  Dom  to  her  grandmother  and  describes 
the  transformation  of  an  old  German  fruit  and  vegetable 
garden  into  a  typical  English  park.  The  writer  concludes 
her  description  of  the  new  garden  as  follows:  ''Beyond  the 
bridge,  just  where  Grandma's  laundry  stood,  a  charming 
little  Gothic  Dom  is  under  construction,  because  my  husband's 
name  is  Gotherich  Dom.  I  suppose  he  has  this  idea  from  the 
garden  at  Stowe,^  in  which  Lord  Temple  has  built  so  many 

1  Theorie  der  Gartenkunst.    5  Vols.    Leipzig,  1779-1785.    Vol.  IV,  p.  15. 
2"Ueber  die  englischen  Garten."    (1807.).  Sammtliche  Werke.    4  Vols. 
Zurich,  1825.    Vol.  IV,  pp.  240-73. 

3  "Dasenglische  Gartchen."  Patriotische  Phantasien.  (1778-86).  Sammtliche 
Werke.    6  parts  in  3  Vols.    Berlin,  1842-43.    pt.  II,  p.  330- 

4  This  was  the  original  of  gardens  in  the  English  style;  see  Delille,  J.,  Les 
ardins.    Oeuvres.    16  Vols.    Paris,  1824.    Vol.  VII,  p.  160  and  note,  p.  186. 


39 


temples.  ...  In  short,  your  nice  little  garden,  Grandma,  now 
resembles  an  enchanted  island,  where  one  finds  everything 
that  he  does  not  seek  and  nothing  that  he  does  seek."  The 
grandmother  is  invited  to  visit  the  new  garden,  but  she  is 
urged  to  come  soon,  "for  before  winter  we  shall  go  to  Scheven- 
ingen  to  see  the  English  garden  which  Count  von  Bentink  has 
constructed  there  on  the  sand  dunes.  .  .  .  From  Scheveningen 
we  shall  perhaps  go  to  England  and  thence  on  to  China  in 
order  to  take  a  look  at  the  great  iron  bridge,  the  nine-story 
porcelain  tower  and  the  famous  wall,  which  my  husband  wishes 
to  take  as  models  for  some  structures  in  the  rear,  near  the 
gooseberry  bush,  where  your  peppermint  bed  was."  The  old 
lady  is  advised  to  bring  along  some  cabbage,  as  there  is  no 
room  in  the  new  garden  for  such  things. 

We  have  numerous  ways  of  ascertaining  the  German  opinion 
of  English  literature  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Much  may 
be  learned  from  the  extent  to  which  English  authors  were  read 
in  Germany,  both  in  the  original  and  in  translations,  and  still 
more  from  the  influence  which  the  leading  German  writers  of 
the  century,  consciously  and  unconsciously,  derived  from 
England. 1  Furthermore,  we  have  definite  statements  regard- 
ing English  literature  from  many  Germans  in  the  most  varied 
walks  of  life,  including  the  leading  men  of  letters.  Many 
volumes  have  been  written  about  the  English  influence  on 
German  literature,  and  to  go  thoroughly  into  this  subject  is 
beyond  the  scope  of  the  present  study Every  important 
English  author  and  every  considerable  literary  movement  of 
England  had  an  effect  on  the  literature  of  eighteenth  century 

^  The  principal  German  men  of  letters  who  came  under  English  influence 
through  residence  in  England  in  the  eighteenth  were  Haller,  Hagedorn, 
Justus  Moser,  Johann  Georg  Hamann,  Helferich  Peter  Sturz,  Lichtenberg, 
Archenholz  and  Karl  Philipp  Moritz.  Another  pronounced  disciple  of  English 
culture  was  Georg  Zimmermann,  who  for  fifteen  years  was  first  physician  to 
George  III  during  the  periods  of  the  latter 's  residence  in  Hanover. 

2 For  a  brief,  but  very  suggestive  treatment  of  the  subject  see  Max  Koch: 
Ueber  die  Beziehungen  der  englischen  zur  deutschen  Literatur  im  achizehnten 
Jahrhundert.  Leipzig,  1883.  See  also  Introduction,  p.  xvi.  In  the  present 
series  the  following  works  are  to  be  mentioned  here — Tombo:  Ossian  in  Ger- 
many. Thayer:  Laurence  Sterne  in  Germany.  Kind:  Edward  Young  in 
Germany. 


40 


Germany.  Beginning  in  1713  with  the  Verniinftler  of  Matthe- 
son  in  Hamburg,  a  "moral  weekly"  patterned  after  the 
Spectator  of  Addison  and  Steele,  the  English  influence  con- 
tinued in  an  unbroken  stream,  though  overshadowed  till  well 
past  the  middle  of  the  century  by  that  of  the  French,  which 
had  long  dominated  German  letters.  Adolf  Bartels  in  his 
Geschichte  der  deutschen  Litteratur^  says:  "That  the  Gallic 
spirit  is  not  ours  is  recognized  early  enough,  and  so  we  soon 
begin  to  learn  from  the  English  as  well  as  the  French;  at  first, 
to  be  sure,  only  from  such  as  have  gone  through  the  French 
school,  from  Pope,  Gay  and  Pry  or,  Addison  and  the  somewhat 
independent  'descriptive'  genius,  Thomson.  Then  we  become 
more  closely  acquainted  with  Milton,  the  important  novelist 
Richardson  and  finally  Shakespeare;  the  French  school  is 
replaced  by  the  English."  As  early  as  1721  the  English 
influence  began  to  make  itself  felt  in  Switzerland,  again 
through  the  medium  of  a  moral  weekly,  the  Discourse  der 
Mahlern,  of  which  Bodmer  and  Breitinger  were  the  editors. 
They  soon  came  to  be  recognized  as  partisans  of  the  English 
school  against  the  French,  which  found  its  chief  defendant 
in  Gottsched,  and  the  struggle  between  the  two  schools  for 
supremacy  in  Germany  was  begun  in  earnest.  Long  before 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1766,  Gottsched  had  gone  down 
in  defeat,  but  it  was  not  until  later,  through  the  activities  of 
the  Storm  and  Stress  writers  of  the  seventies,  that  the  fetters 
of  French  literary  tradition  were  finally  broken  and  the  cry 
for  an  "imitation  of  nature,"  which  to  its  originators  meant 
an  imitation  of  the  English,  became  the  watchword  of  German 
literature.^ 

In  1 7 19  Robinson  Crusoe  was  translated  into  German,  and 
so  popular  was  the  work  that  in  the  following  year  it  went 
through  five  editions.  Exactly  a  half  century  later  we  read 
in  the  Allgemeine  deutsche  Bibliothek^  that  "this  well  known 
book  (the  only  one  which  Rousseau  wanted  to  give  his  Emile, 

^  2  Vols.    Leipzig,  1901-02.    Vol.  I,  p.  236. 

2  For  a  typical  expression  of  the  Storm  and  Stress  anglomania  at  its  worst, 
see  Lenz'  " Anmerkungen  iibers  Theater."  Cesammelte  Schriften.  3  Vols. 
Berlin,  1828.    Vol.  II,  p.  200,  ff. 

3  Vol.  IX  (1769).  pt.  2,  p.  258. 


41 


and  the  prolific  mother  of  so  many  German  Robinsons)  is 
continually  reprinted;  it  must,  accordingly,  find  readers." 
This  was  the  forerunner  of  a  steady  stream  of  translations 
from  the  English,  which  grew  to  enormous  proportions  as  the 
century  advanced.  One  may  take  up  at  random  any  of  the 
German  book  reviews  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  expect  to 
find  listed  therein  new  translations  of  English  works  or  new 
editions  of  such  as  had  already  attained  popularity  in  Ger- 
many. Those  received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm  were 
the  novels  of  Richardson,  Fielding,  Sterne  and  Smollett. 
The  critics  are  almost  unanimous  in  their  praise  of  the  English 
novelists.  Richardson  is  said  to  "spread  over  his  characters 
such  a  delicate  mixture  of  colors  that  their  despicable  traits 
never  become  repulsive  and  their  pleasing  ones  are  made 
so  charming  that  the  reader  becomes  passionately  interested 
in  them."  ^  As  for  Fielding,  we  are  told^  that  ''few  writers 
know  the  human  heart,  life  and  the  ways  of  the  world  so 
well  as  he.  Few  are  so  penetrating  in  discovering  humor 
wherever  it  is  to  be  found  and  in  portraying  it  with  such 
effect.  The  characters  which  Fielding  depicts  are  genuine 
Nature,  and,  we  might  almost  say,  Nature  in  all  her  variety. 
Together  with  these  especial  talents  Fielding  possessed  that 
most  valuable  faculty  of  being  able  to  draw  simply  and  natu- 
rally the  finest  reflections  and  the  most  useful  morals  from  the 
most  ordinary  situations."  Sterne  is  given  equal  rank  with 
Rabelais  and  Cervantes  and  is  charged  with  only  one  serious 
fault,  that  of  having  founded  a  new  literary  sect,  so  numerous 
were  his  imitators  in  Germany  ;^  and  Smollett  is  recommended^ 
"for  all  dyspeptic  stomachs,  dyspeptic  spleens,  dyspeptic 
brains ;  in  short,  for  all  diseases  that  can  be  cured  by  laughter." 
But  in  spite  of  their  general  popularity  these  English  novelists 
sometimes  impressed  an  eighteenth  century  German  as  they 
do  most  of  us  today;  in  the  opinion  of  Baron  Bielfeld,^  for 
instance,  "they  understand  the  human  heart  perfectly  well, 

1  A.d.B.    Vol.  IX  (1769).  pt.  2,  p.  262. 

2  ibid.,  Vol.  VI  (1768),  pt.  I,  p.  311. 

3  ibid..  Vol.  XIX  (1773).  pt.  2,  p.  579;  Vol.  XXXI  (i777).  pt.  2,  p.  502. 
*  ibid..  Vol.  XI  (1770),  pt.  I,  p.  336. 

5  Letters.    Vol.  IV,  p.  149. 


42 


but  anatomise  it  in  too  precise  and  diminutive  a  manner  and 
disgust  by  their  prolixity."  According  to  the  same  critic/ 
"English  romances  are  profound,  unequal  and  sometimes 
tedious,  as  are  many  other  of  their  writings  in  general  and 
Shakespeare  in  particular;  for  the  rest,  they  are  sufficiently 
gloomy  and  give  a  severe  and  extravagant  representation  of 
the  passions." 

Many  of  the  numerous  German  imitations  of  these  English 
novels  adhered  so  closely  to  their  models  that  they  were  little 
more  than  a  transplanting  of  foreign  customs  and  manners 
to  German  soil.  Lichtenberg  makes  such  productions  the 
object  of  his  keenest  satire.  The  difficulties  of  giving  a 
German  setting  to  an  English  romance  he  describes  in  part 
as  follows:^  "The  harm  done  by  the  comfortable  coaches  and 
excellent  roads  in  England  can  not  be  expressed  in  words. 
In  the  first  place,  if  a  girl  elopes  in  London  in  the  evening 
with  her  lover,  she  can  be  in  France  before  her  father  wakes 
up,  or  in  Scotland  before  he  and  his  relatives  decide  what  is 
to  be  done;  therefore  an  author  has  no  need  of  fairies  or 
magicians  or  talismans  to  bring  the  lovers  to  safety.  ...  In 
Germany,  on  the  other  hand,  even  if  the  father  should  remain 
ignorant  of  his  daughter's  flight  until  the  third  day,  if  he  only 
knows  that  she  took  a  stage  coach,  he  can  overtake  her  by 
horse  at  the  third  station."  Of  the  seven  varieties  of  style 
which  Lichtenberg  holds  up  to  ridicule  in  his  brief  Bittschrift 
der  Wahnsinnigen^  three  are  direct  results  of  the  English 
influence.  These  he  characterizes  as  Great  Shakespearean 
Nonpareil,  Checkered  English  Jack-pudding  and  Variegated 
Boaster,  with  and  without  Sterne  (Gross  Shakespearisch  Non- 
pareille,  Englisch  geschachter  Hanswurst,  Bunter  Prahler,  mit 
und  ohne  Yorick). 

The  interest  in  English  literature  produced  its  most  revolu- 
tionary efifects  on  the  German  drama.  The  Hamburgische 
Dramaturgie  of  Lessing,  who,  in  spite  of  his  advance  beyond 
all  predecessors,  did  not  completely  break  with  the  French 

^  ibid.,  p.  151. 

2  "  Ueber  den  deutschen  Roman,"  Vermischte  Schriften.    Vol.  II,  pp.  215-221 . 

3  Vermischte  Schriften.    Vol.  II,  pp.  222-231. 


43 

influence,  Herder's  essay  on  Shakespeare  in  Von  deutscher  Art 
und  Kunst  and  Goethe's  youthful  oration,  Zum  Shakespeare's 
Tag,  constitute  the  early  effective  propaganda  for  Shakespeare 
and  the  English  drama  in  Germany.  But  even  before  these 
familiar  works  appeared,  the  cause  of  English  dramatic  litera- 
ture was  not  without  its  German  exponents.  In  the  Bibliothek 
der  schdnen  Wissenschaften  und  der  freien  Kiinste  of  the  year 
1760  we  find  the  following  statement "We  have  already 
expressed  more  than  once  the  wish  that  a  good  translator 
should  venture  to  take  up  the  English  theater  and  make  his 
countrymen  familiar  especially  with  the  excellent  old  plays  of 
Shakespeare,  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  Ottway  and  others. 
It  would  perhaps  have  been  much  more  beneficial  to  the 
German  theater,  had  it  takes  these  as  models  instead  of  being 
carried  away  by  French  gallantry  and  enriching  itself  with 
numerous  plays  that  are  at  the  same  time  extremely  wretched 
and  entirely  consistent  with  the  rules."  A  similar  view  is 
expressed  by  a  contributor  to  the  Allgemeine  deutsche  Biblio- 
thek'^ in  a  criticism  of  Christian  Heinrich  Schmid's  Englisches 
Theater,  a  translation  of  English  plays  in  five  volumes,  of  which 
the  first  appeared  in  1769:  *'It  is  true  enough  that  we  still 
have  too  few  original  works  for  the  theatre,  and  in  what 
other  way  is  this  want  to  be  supplied  than  by  borrowing 
from  our  neighbors?  And  upon  whom  can  the  choice  fall 
better  than  upon  the  English,  partly  because  they  are  more 
in  accord  with  our  taste  and  partly  because,  aside  from  this, 
of  our  contemporaries  they  have  produced  the  most  and  the 
best  dramatic  works?"  Schmid  seems  to  have  maintained  a 
lifelong  interest  in  the  English  style  of  drama.  Thirty  years 
after  the  above  mentioned  work  appeared  we  find  in  the 
Deutsche  Monatsschrift^  an  article  from  his  pen  on  the  Literatur 
des  burgerlichen  Trauerspiels  in  which  he  gives  a  list  of  229 
"domestic  tragedies"  which  had  appeared  in  Germany  up 
to  that  time,  beginning  in  1755  with  Miss  Sara  Sampson.  The 

1  From  an  exhaustive  review  of  a  work  in  three  volumes  entitled  Neue 
Probestiicke  der  Englischen  Schaubiihne  iibersetzt  von  einem  Liebhaber  des  guten 
Geschmacks.    Vol.  VI  (1760),  pt.  i,  pp.  60-74. 

2  Vol.  XXIII  (1774).  pt.  2,  p.  505. 

3  Berlin,  1790-94;  Leipzig,  1795-99-    1798,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  282. 


44 


titles  of  many  of  these  plays  indicate  definitely  that  they  have 
an  English  background,  and  all,  of  course,  were  written  more 
or  less  under  the  English  influence. 

That  the  excessive  enthusiasm  of  the  Storm  and  Stress 
dramatists  for  Shakespeare  was  their  undoing  was  clearly 
recognized  by  many  of  their  German  contemporaries.  Baron 
Riesbeck,  a  German  who,  in  his  writings,  assumes  the  character 
of  a  Frenchman,  without  deceiving  any  one  but  himself,  had 
in  mind  such  dramatists  as  Klinger,  Lenz  and  Maler  Miiller 
when  he  wrote  the  following  passage "Shakespeare,  whom 
Goethe,  probably  from  whim  or  with  the  view  to  draw  the 
attention  of  his  countrymen  to  that  great  poet,  proposed  as 
his  example  in  his  Gotz,  became  instantly  the  idol  of  the 
German  dramatic  writers;  but  not  that  Shakespeare  who,  like 
Raphael,  paints  man  as  he  is  under  every  circumstance  and 
expresses  every  movement  of  the  muscles  and  nerves  and 
every  emotion  of  the  passions;  but  he  who,  for  want  of  suffi- 
cient acquaintance  with  originals  and  due  to  education  ,2  gives 
himself  up  to  his  own  wild  whims,  flies  over  ages  and  countries 
and  worlds,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  his  fluctuating  objects  does 
not  trouble  himself  about  either  unity  or  order."  Helferich 
Peter  Sturz,  too,  whose  own  writings  show  plainly  the  influence 
of  his  residence  in  England,  warns  against  a  blind  imitation  of 
the  English  dramatists,  while  he  decries  a  servile  adherence 
to  the  classical  rules :^  "Still  less  would  it  meet  with  my 
approval,  if  one  should  violate,  as  the  English  do,  all  rules  of 
unity,  traveling  by  land  and  sea  on  the  stage  and  extending 
the  action  of  a  single  piece  over  many  years.  It  is  not  so 
diflicult  to  find  a  middle  ground  between  this  audacity  and 
the  timidity  of  the  Frenchman,  who  scarcely  dares,  on  his 
stage,  to  leave  the  room."  The  interest  in  English  literature 
was  by  no  means  confined  to  belles-lettres.  English  philos- 
ophers, philologists  and  historians  were  widely  read  in  Ger- 
many, and  their  style,  moulded  as  it  was  to  a  considerable 

^  Travels  through  Germany,  translated  from  the  German  by  Paul  H.  Maty. 
3  Vols.    London,  1787.    Vol.  I,  p.  70. 

2  Due  to  his  defective  education,  is  undoubtedly  meant. 

2  Preface  to  his  tragedy,  Julie.  Schriften.  2  Vols,  in  i.  Carlsruhe,  1784- 
Vol.  I,  p.  197. 


45 


extent  by  their  thorough  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics, 
had  a  far-reaching  effect  on  German  writers  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Eschenburg  toward  the  close  of 
the  century  wrote  for  the  Minerva  of  Archenholz  an  interesting 
series  of  letters  under  the  title  of  Grundziige  eines  Gemdldes 
der  deutschen  Liter atur  wdhrend  der  drei  letzten  Jahrzehenden, 
in  which  he  traces  the  influence  of  foreign  literature  and 
foreign  literary  critics  on  German  style.  In  the  fourth  letter^ 
he  asserts  that  "the  works  of  the  Englishmen,  Burke,  Gerard, 
Webb,  Beattie,  Blair  and  others,  eagerly  read  both  in  the 
original  and  in  translations,  have  undoubtedly  contributed 
far  more  to  the  development  and  strengthening  of  the  critical 
literary  taste  of  the  Germans  than  the  scanty  and  far  less 
instructive  modern  works  of  the  French." 

Few  subjects  receive  more  attention  from  German  writers 
on  England,  particularly  toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  than  the  Englishman's  opinion  of  German  literature. 
Bottiger  contributed  to  the  Teutscher  Merkur  for  September, 
1797,  an  article  on  Wie  urtheilt  das  Ausland  iiher  teutsche 
Literatur,^  which  begins  with  the  following  confession:  ''A 
peculiarity  of  our  nation  which  has  been  frequently  observed 
and  criticised  is  the  anxious  looking  about  and  listening  to 
determine  what  foreign  nations  think  of  us."  The  English- 
man's opinion  of  the  German  enters,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
into  the  latter's  estimate  of  the  former;  therefore  it  may  be 
of  interest  to  take  up  at  this  point  the  question  raised  by 
Bottiger  and  to  see  how  he  and  his  German  contemporaries 
answered  it.  The  situation  is  described  in  the  above  men- 
tioned article  as  follows:  "The  Englishman  forms  his  opinion 
of  our  literary  products  from  a  few  romances  of  adventure 
and  wild  flights  of  the  imagination  which  have  been  translated 
in  London  for  some  time  by  literary  speculators.  ...  Of  our 
scientific  and  historical  writings  extremely  few  have  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  penetrate  the  barriers  which  British  self- 
complacency  has  erected."  ^    Many  articles  on  this  subject 

^Minerva.    (Berlin,  1792;  Hamburg,  1792-1810)  August,  i795.  P-  240. 

2  p.  34.  ff- 

3  J.  S.  Ersch  answers  Bottiger's  article,  in  the  Merkur  for  December,  1797 
(pp.  225-235),  maintaining  that  there  is  as  much  proof  of  an  appreciation  for 
German  literature  on  the  part  of  Frenchmen  and  Englishmen  as  of  the  contrary. 


46 


are  to  be  found  in  Wieland's  Merkur;  from  their  frequency 
we  may  gather  that  its  editor  was  somewhat  sensitive  on  the 
subject  of  English  indifference  to  German  genius.  In  the 
issue  for  January,  1774/  we  read  the  following  protest  against 
''a  rare  compliment"  paid  by  the  London  Magazine  to  German 
literature:  ''The  English  may  have  good  reason  to  be  proud 
of  their  Bacon,  their  Milton,  their  Dryden  and  Pope,  their 
Locke  and  Hume  and  especially  of  their  great  Newton,  but 
superiority  gives  no  right  to  despise  others ;  and  it  is  no  credit 
to  such  an  enlightened  nation  that  the  Germans,  who  produced 
the  man  who  bore  the  torch  to  their  Newton, ^  are  spoken  of  in 
their  midst  as  a  horde  of  barbarians,  just  awakened  from 
their  long  sleep  of  ignorance  and  stupidity,  who  are  beginning 
to  try  their  eyes  and  ears,  hands  and  feet,  demeaning  them- 
selves at  the  same  time  so  as  to  give  hopes  that  they  will 
eventually  resemble  other  human  beings."  As  an  indication 
of  the  extent  to  which  German  literature  is  known  and  appre- 
ciated in  England  Moritz  cites  the  announcement  by  a  London 
publisher  of^  "a  work  under  the  title,  'The  Entertaining 
Museum,'  or  'Complete  Circulating  Library,'  containing  not 
only  works  from  all  the  classical  English  authors,  but  also 
translations  of  famous  French,  Spanish  and  even  German 
novels."  As  the  century  draws  near  its  close  we  find  that 
the  Germans  are,  on  the  whole,  greatly  encouraged  over  the 
favor  with  which  their  works  are  meeting  in  England.  In  a 
letter  from  London  appearing  in  the  Merkur  for  June,  1796,* 
we  read  the  following  statement:  "German  literature  has  for 
some  time  been  acquiring  more  followers  and  devotees  among 
the  British.  The  translation  of  Moritz'  Foot-tour  through 
England  is  so  popular  that  a  second  edition  of  it  has  already 
appeared.  .  .  .  Our  stories  of  knights  and  ghosts  are  fully  in 
keeping  with  the  present  English  taste  and  are  eagerly  trans- 
lated. German  dictionaries  and  grammars  are  in  frequent 
demand."    And  in  a  similar  letter  a  few  years  later^  we  are 

1  p.  114. 

2  Johann  Kepler. 

3  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  in  England,  etc.    p.  25. 

4  p.  198. 

^Der  Neue  ieutsche  Merkur.    1799,  Vol.  i  (April),  p.  371. 


47 


told  that  "the  words  German  literature  are  now  heard  at  the 
tea  table  and  in  the  most  fashionable  gatherings  more  often 
in  one  hour  than  formerly,  perhaps,  in  years."  Archenholz 
finds  the  most  conclusive  proof  of  the  conversion  of  the 
English  in  the  protest  of  their  authors  against  the  rage  for 
German  literature.  "But  this  jealousy,  this  learned  envy, 
this  illiberal  opposition,"  he  assures  us,^  "is  powerless  and 
does  not  check  in  the  least  the  continually  growing  interest 
of  the  British  in  the  literature  and  language  of  the  Germans." 

A  subject  of  frequent  comment  in  connection  with  the 
reception  of  German  literature  in  England  is  the  opposition 
which  it  encounters  from  the  more  pious  element  of  the  nation. 
German  plays,  especially  those  of  Kotzebue,  which  were 
extremely  popular  among  the  English,  were  declared  by  the 
orthodox  and  strait-laced  critics  to  be  highly  immoral.  For 
a  German  opinion  of  the  Englishman's  attitude  in  this  matter 
let  us  turn  again  to  the  Merkur:'^  "The  book-dealer,  Bell, 
has  just  issued  a  prospectus  in  which  he  announces  the  appear- 
ance, from  time  to  time  of  about  forty  German  plays  in  English 
translations.  The  announcement  contains  a  statement  not 
very  flattering  to  German  taste,  to  the  effect  that  everything 
will  be  omitted  from  these  plays  that  might  be  considered 
immoral,  and  offensive  to  the  refined  English  taste.  The 
German  brood  of  bears  will  accordingly  first  have  to  be  licked 
by  British  tongues!" 

The  eighteenth  century  Englishman's  ignorance  of  the 
German  language  explains  in  a  large  measure  his  unfamiliarity 
with  German  literature.  It  is  only  toward  the  end  of  the 
century  that,  Germans  begin  to  observe  an  awakening  interest 
in  the  study  of  their  language  in  England.  In  the  eighties 
Wendeborn  writes:^  "As  yet  my  good  native  tongue  is  only 
slightly  known  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  and — be  it  said 
not  to  the  honor  of  the  English — not  highly  esteemed." 
William  Edward  Mead  in  his  Grand  Tour  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century  gives  an  interesting  discussion  of  the  Englishman's 
ignorance  of  German.    He  says  in  part:*  "With  the  rarest 

^  "Die  deutsche  Literatur  in  England."    Minerva,  October,  1800,  p.  107,  ff. 

2  April,  1799-    "Brief  aus  London,"  p.  372. 

3  Zustand  .  .  .  in  Grossbritannien.    Vol.  IV,  p.  240. 


48 


exceptions,  one  of  whom  was  Carteret,  who  had  traveled 
widely  in  Germany,  Englishmen  in  the  eighteenth  century 
were  entirely  ignorant  of  German.  English  tourists  seldom 
knew  more  than  a  phrase  or  two  of  the  language.  Even  a 
reading  knowledge  of  German  was  a  very  rare  accomplish- 
ment among  Englishmen.  Trained  scholars  like  Hume,  Gib- 
bon, Robertson,  and  Parr  were  unable  to  use  German  books. 
Horace  Walpole's  acquaintance  with  German  enabled  him  as 
late  as  1788  to  say  no  more  than,  'I  am  told  it  is  a  fine  lan- 
guage!" To  Wendeborn  is  given  credit  for  first  awakening 
and  disseminating  in  England  an  interest  in  the  study  of 
German. 1  This  he  did  through  the  publication  of  two  text 
books,  Elements  of  German  Grammar  (1774)  and  An  Intro- 
duction to  German  Grammar  (1790).  In  the  preface  to  the 
latter  he  states  that  there  are  already  several  German  gram- 
mars in  England,  but  he  describes  them  as  "very  diffuse  in 
etymology  and  very  faulty  in  syntax."  Nemnich  is  one  of 
many  Germans  who  comment  on  the  increasing  popularity 
of  the  German  language  in  England  at  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century:  "From  time  to  time,"  he  says,^  "one 
meets  Englishmen  who  really  study  the  German  language 
and  derive  some  pleasure  from  it."  In  sharp  contrast  with 
this  still  luke-warm  interest  of  the  English  in  the  German 
language  stands  the  popularity  of  the  English  tongue  in 
Germ.any,  as  attested — though  undoubtedly  in  too  extravagant 
terms — by  Archenholz:^  "In  the  circles  of  polite  German 
society,  among  the  belles,  the  gallants,  in  fact,  with  whole 
classes  of  the  people,  scholars,  artists,  merchants  and  soldiers, 
the  English  language  is  beginning  to  replace  the  French." 

Education  in  eighteenth  century  England  receives  from 
Germans  more  adverse  than  favorable  criticism.  The  English- 
man's aversion  to  changes  in  the  existing  order  of  things,  his 
blind  adherence  to  tradition,  was  said  to  give  to  his  educa- 
tional system  a  sadly  antiquated  character;  so  much  so  that 
Goede  considers  the  public  schools  and  universities  of  England 

^  See  Wendeborn :  Erinnerungen  aus  seinem  Leben.  Hamburg,  1 8 13.  Intro, 
by  C.  D.  Ebeling,  p.  IV. 

2  Neueste  Reise  durch  England,  etc.,  p.  169. 

^  Annalen  der  hrittischen  Geschichte.    Vol.  I,  p.  347' 


49 


two  centuries  behind  those  of  the  other  leading  European  coun- 
tries.^ On  the  other  hand,  we  find  frequent  mention  of  one 
great  advantage  of  the  Enghsh  educational  system;  that  is, 
the  freedom  which  it  allows  for  individual  development  along 
natural  lines.  Wendeborn  sees  a  close  resemblance  between 
the  Englishman's  ideas  of  education  and  his  taste  in  gardens 
and  parks:  "He  loves  nature,  he  comes  to  her  aid  again  and 
again  with  a  helpful  hand,  he  will  not  allow  art  to  destroy 
any  of  her  works.  This  very  trait  is  the  cause  of  the  English- 
man's attaining  most  nearly  to  the  real  dignity  and  destiny 
of  man."  ^  Together  with  this  fidelity  to  nature  Wendeborn 
regards  the  uniformity  of  education  among  all  classes  as  a 
benefit  to  the  English  nation,  and  to  this  same  uniformity  he 
attributes  much  that  is  peculiar  in  the  national  character. 
In  elaboration  of  this  point  he  says:^  "That  the  inhabitants  of 
this  island  esteem  their  form  of  government,  their  customs, 
their  manners,  their  pleasures,  so  highly  and  look  down  on 
other  nations  with  a  reprehensible  national  pride  often  border- 
ing on  the  ridiculous,  is  a  result  of  their  education  and  their 
schools.  A  native  Englishman  of  rank  who  has  received  his 
education  from  childhood  on  in  France,  Germany  or  Switzer- 
land will  play  the  role  of  a  foreigner,  even  against  his  wishes; 
in  spite  of  his  being  British  by  birth,  he  will  at  least  find  himself 
less  able  to  win  the  friendship  and  respect  of  his  fellow  country- 
men, even  if  he  escapes  their  positive  contempt,  than  if — to 
put  it  paradoxically — he  had  followed  the  course  of  nature  and 
become  an  Englishman  through  artificial  means."  Kiittner 
is  another  of  the  numerous  Germans  with  whom  education  in 
England  finds  favor  on  account  of  its  conformity  to  nature:^ 
"Education  is,  on  the  whole,  much  more  liberal  and  un- 
constrained than  in  Germany;  children  are  not  held  in  check 
to  such  an  extent  by  leading-strings,  but  are  left  more  to  their 
own  resources;  they  are  not  admonished,  scolded  and  punished 
so  much,  but  are  allowed  rather  to  gain  wisdom  from  their  own 
unhappy  experiences." 

1  England,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  197. 

2  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  239. 

3  ibid.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  199- 

*  N.  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  XXIV  (1796),  pt.  I,  p.  144. 


50 


As  for  the  English  universities,  they  were  thought  to  be  too 
much  under  the  dominion  of  the  EstabHshed  Church.  They 
afforded  very  thorough  training  in  theology,  but  not  in  other 
fields  of  learning.  To  have  the  advantages  of  a  good  educa- 
tion in  medicine  no  one  thought  of  going  to  Oxford  or  Cam- 
bridge, but  rather  to  Edinburgh  or  else  to  a  foreign  university, 
and  the  young  Englishman  who  wished  to  learn  his  country's 
laws  and  earn  fame  in  its  courts  of  justice  had  to  go  to  London 
to  prepare  himself  for  his  profession.  Wendeborn,  who  writes 
at  length  on  the  subject  of  education  in  England,  is  very 
severe  in  his  exhaustive  criticism  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
as  the  following  passage  will  indicate:  ^  "Very  few  indeed  learn 
anything  thoroughly  at  these  universities,  and  if  they  bring 
nothing  with  them  from  their  preparatory  school  and  do  not 
study  faithfully  on  their  own  account  at  college,  they  are  very 
certain  to  return  home  entirely  empty-minded.  A  promment 
and  learned  man  sent  his  grandson  to  Oxford  and  desired  of 
him  only  that  he  should  not  forget  in  the  first  three  years 
all  that  he  had  acquired  at  school."  Furthermore,  Wendeborn 
remarks :2  "They  are  patterned  in  every  respect  after  the  old 
monasteries,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  a  nation  which  considers 
itself  so  wise  does  not  think  of  improvements,  in  order  to  do 
away  with  the  useless  features  which  every  man  of  good  sense 
recognizes  in  them  [i.e.,  the  universities],  and  to  make  of  them 
useful  institutions."  Forster  has  similar  objections:  "The 
monastic  order  which  prevails  in  the  English  universities  has 
been  praised  in  Germany  as  exemplary — because  it  is  not 
known.  The  rules  here  are  so  strict  that  their  observance  is 
an  impossibility."  ^  The  very  stress  which  is  laid  upon 
religion,  makes  of  it  in  Forster 's  opinion  an  empty  form,  or 
even  a  pernicious  influence.  "For  my  part,"  he  states,  "I 
can  not  understand  how  young  men  can  escape  the  alternative 
of  bigotry  or  infidelity,  when  they  are  required  here,  during  a 
period  of  six  or  eight  years,  to  go  to  prayers  in  the  chapel  of 
their  college  four  times  a  day.    This  opus  operatum,  of  which 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  IV,  p.  204. 

2  ibid.,  p.  262. 

^  Ansichten,  etc.    Sdmmtliche  Schrifien.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  430. 


61 


the  good  effects  are  shown  by  the  initials  carved  on  the 
benches  a  few  steps  from  the  altar  in  the  chapel  of  Christ 
Church  College,  must  produce  a  spiritual  dulness,  once  it 
ever  becomes  a  custom." 

But  in  spite  of  these  serious  short-comings  of  English  schools 
and  particularly  of  the  universities,  eighteenth  century  Ger- 
mans testify  without  a  dissenting  voice  to  the  high  state  of 
learning  in  England  and  to  the  superior  culture  of  the  English 
people  as  a  whole.  Johann  Georg  Zimmermann,  whose 
opinion  on  this  subject  has  especial  weight  on  account  of  his 
own  attainments  as  a  scientist,  says  that  ''any  European 
nation  not  deprived  of  its  senses,  while  perhaps  claiming  pre- 
eminence in  learning  for  itself,  will  certainly  not  fail  to  give 
second  place  to  England."  ^  And  again  he  tells  us  that  in  all 
the  sciences  and  in  almost  all  the  arts  the  English  are  as  great 
as  is  possible  for  mere  men  to  be,  and,  furthermore,  that  their 
full  consciousness  of  their  own  greatness  is  only  too  evident.^ 
A  still  earlier  expression  of  opinion  concerning  English  scholar- 
ship which  is  of  especial  interest  may  be  taken  from  the  diary 
of  Haller:^  "In  the  sciences  it  seems  that  no  country  is  more 
advanced  at  present  than  England,  unless  it  be  in  jurispru- 
dence; for  the  English  have  their  own  laws  and  do  not  concern 
themselves  about  those  of  the  Romans.  But  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  nature,  in  scientific  research  and  in  everything  that 
involves  the  art  of  measuring  and  the  nature  of  substances 
[die  Messkunst  und  die  Natur  der  Wesen]  they  surpass  all 
previous  ages  and  all  contemporary  countries.  The  causes  are : 
first,  the  wealth  of  the  nation,  a  good  government  and  the 
liberal  rewards  offered  for  scholarship;  secondly,  the  reflecting 
and  ambitious  nature  of  this  people,  which  carries  all  it 
undertakes,  good  or  bad,  to  a  high  state  of  perfection;  and, 
thirdly,  the  superior  learning  of  English  scholars."  As  further 
proof  of  the  generous  recognition  given  by  Germans  to  English 
scholarship  throughout  the  eighteenth  century,  let  us  take  the 
following  statement  of  Achenwall,  written  sixty  years  later 


1  Vom  Nationalstolze,  p.  133. 

2  ibid.,  p.  263. 

3  Tagebiicher,  etc.,  p.  132. 


52 


than  the  preceding:^  "The  Englishman  is  endowed  by  nature 
with  traits  that  make  for  perfection  in  the  sciences ;  profound- 
ness and  untiring  energy  are  pecuHar  to  him.  No  nation  has 
produced  greater  intellects  than  the  English,  and  none  has 
done  more  to  advance  those  sciences  which  are  the  greatest 
credit  to  the  human  mind  and  the  most  useful  in  ordinary  life." 

Taube  emphasizes  the  excellence  of  English  scholarship  by 
a  comparison  of  England's  contributions  to  intellectual  culture 
with  those  of  France.  In  his  opinion,  "the  light  which  is 
spread  over  the  arts  and  sciences  usually  emanates  from 
England.  The  errors  which  find  their  way  into  the  same, 
come  mostly  from  the  French;  not,  it  is  true,  on  account  of 
ignorance,  but  from  superficiality  and  lack  of  thorough  investi- 
gation." 2  In  spite  of  the  assertions  of  Wendeborn  and 
numerous  others  to  the  contrary,  Lichtenberg  characterizes 
English  scholars  as  independent  and  original,  and  in  this 
respect  he  rates  them  higher  than  the  scholars  of  his  own 
country.  This  view  he  expresses  in  the  following  aphorisms  :^ 
"English  geniuses  go  in  advance  of  the  fashions,  and  Germans 
trail  behind. — The  German  scholar  keeps  his  books  open  too 
long,  and  the  Englishman  closes  them  too  soon.  Each,  how- 
ever, has  his  place  in  the  world." 

The  charge  is  often  brought  by  Germans  that  the  English 
scholar  is  lacking  in  versatility.  They  observe  that  he  attains 
a  high  degree  of  proficiency  in  his  chosen  field  of  knowledge, 
but  that  he  seldom  reaches  out  beyond  its  boundaries  in 
order  to  broaden  his  scholarship.*  To  refute  this  a  German 
resident  of  London  in  a  letter  to  the  Deutsches  Museum^ 
dated  November  8,  1779,  writes  as  follows:  "Any  one  who 
has  come  into  contact  with  English  scholars  or  who  has  even 
looked  a  little  into  their  writings,  will  find  this  to  be  quite 

^  Staatsverfassung  der  heuHgen  vornehmsten  Europdischen  Reiche.  (1790) 
Pt.  1,  p.  311- 

2  Abschilderung  der  engldndischen  Manufacturen.    Part  I,  p.  2,  footnote. 

3  Urtheile  und  Bemerkungen  iiber  den  Charakier  verschiedener  Vdlker.  Nach- 
trag.    Vermischte  Schriften.    Vol.  II,  pp.  121-122. 

*  See,  for  example,  Volkmann's  Neueste  Reisen,  Vol.  I,  p.  113  and  Goede's 
England,  etc..  Vol.  Ill,  p.  86. 
6  1780,  Vol.  I,  pt.  2,  p.  197. 


\ 


53 


false.  There  is  hardly  a  tutor  at  either  of  the  universities 
who  does  not  understand  Greek  and  Latin  so  well  that  he 
can  explain  the  meaning  and  the  beauties  of  the  different 
authors  to  his  students  and  who  does  not  possess  at  the  same 
time  a  knowledge  of  mathematics,  not  only  geometry  and  a 
little  algebra,  but  also  astronomy  and  physics.  .  .  .  Besides, 
no  educated  Englishman  is  a  stranger  to  the  history  of  his 
own  country,  to  its  laws  and  its  political  constitution.  Of 
modern  languages  he  usually  understands  French  and  often 
Italian."  The  writer  of  this  letter  maintains  that  a  country's 
culture  can  not  be  judged  by  the  number  of  books  it  produces. 
By  this  standard,  Germany  would  take  first  rank;  but  he 
reminds  us  that  "there  are  countries  where  not  a  great  deal  is 
written,  but  where  culture  and  refinement  of  manners  are 
promoted  through  daily  intercourse,  through  observation  and 
through  experience  gained  from  many  objects  and  many 
places." 

The  general  interest  taken  by  the  English  in  literature,  art 
and  science  and  the  homage  paid  to  their  great  men  in  all 
fields  of  intellectual  achievement  are  subjects  which  receive 
the  frequent  attention  of  eighteenth  century  German  writers 
on  England.  Moritz  is  positive  "that  the  English  classical 
authors  are  read,  without  any  comparison,  more  than  the 
German,  who  are  read  only  by  scholars  and,  at  the  most,  by 
the  middle  classes,  while  the  national  authors  of  the  English 
are  read  by  the  people,  as  is  indicated,  among  various  ways, 
by  the  innumerable  editions."  ^  The  Deutsches  Museum  for 
December  1784  contains  an  interesting  article  on  Englische 
und  deutsche  Literaturliebe,'^  in  which  we  read  that  Captain 
Cook's  Journey  around  the  World  has  just  appeared  in  London 
in  a  handsome  edition  of  2000  copies,  all  of  which  were  sold 
within  two  days  at  4£  14s.  each.  The  assertion  is  made  that 
no  work  could  have  met  with  anything  like  corresponding 

1  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  in  England,  p.  24. 

2  Vol.  II,  pt.  12,  p.  532.  This  article  is  probably  to  be  attributed  to  Heinrich 
Christian  Boie,  editor  of  the  Museum  and  one  of  the  leading  exponents  of  English 
culture  in  eighteenth  century  Germany.  This  periodical  is,  in  fact,  more 
consistently  pro-British  than  any  of  the  others,  not  excepting  Archenholz' 
Annalen. 


54 


success  in  Germany,  even  at  a  sixth  of  the  above  price.  The 
question  as  to  the  cause  of  this  difference  between  the  two 
countries  is  answered  as  follows:  ''Not  our  poverty  [is  the 
cause],  for  that  is  taken  into  consideration.  We  are  in  reality 
not  six  times  as  poor  as  the  British,  as  I  have  assumed,  and 
then  it  must  be  remembered  that  we  have  thirty  million 
people,  while  the  British  kingdom  has  only  eleven  million 
and  that  among  us,  consequently,  in  order  to  equal  them, 
there  would  have  to  be  three  times  as  many  friends  of  the 
muses.  The  only  true  explanation,  accordingly,  is  our  lack 
of  interest  in  the  sciences  and  literature, — our  coldness  and 
dulness  for  everything  great  and  noble, — despite  all  boasts  of 
enlightenment,  our  barbarity."  Even  Wendeborn  is  willing 
to  allow  the  English  some  credit  for  the  recognition  they  give 
to  genius.  He  admits  that,  "generally  speaking,  the  English 
public,  in  a  certain  manner,  has  cause  to  be  proud  of  the  fact 
that  it  rewards  achievements  in  the  arts  and  sciences  more 
liberally  than  is  customary  among  other  nations."  ^  Forster, 
too,  draws  a  comparison  between  his  own  country  and  England, 
which  is  decidedly  to  the  advantage  of  the  latter.  On  the 
occasion  of  a  visit  to  a  tavern  in  Birmingham  named  in  honor 
of  Shakespeare,  he  exclaims:^  "How  admirably  and  advan- 
tageously is  the  general  culture  of  the  English  shown  by  the 
homage  they  pay  to  the  great  men  who  have  produced  it. 
When  will  it  occur  to  any  one  in  Germany  to  give  to  a  hotel 
the  name  of  Lessing,  Goethe,  Schiller  or  Wieland? — This  is 
by  no  means  so  insignificant  a  miatter  as  might  be  supposed; 
it  is  in  such  things  that  the  genius  of  a  nation  is  manifested." 
Zimmerman  is  equally  eulogistic  in  this  regard:^  "This  people, 
often  so  ruthless  under  the  pretext  of  freedom,  forgets  hatred, 
enmity,  sects  and  factions,  when  the  occasion  is  presented  to 
reward  great  talents.  The  burial  place  of  their  kings  is  like- 
wise the  burial  place  of  their  geniuses.  The  remains  of  an 
actress,  which  in  France  are  relegated  to  a  carrion-pit,  are 
laid  to  rest  in  England  beside  the  heads  of  the  state.  The 
honor  which  is  shown  in  England  to  every  great  intellect  has 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  IV,  p.  9. 

2  Ansichten,  etc.,  p.  398. 

8  Vom  Nalionalstolze,  p.  265. 


65 


at  all  times  prompted  the  ablest  men  of  the  kingdom  to  bind 
the  scholar's  palms  around  their  coronets."  It  is  this  senti- 
ment which  is  expressed  so  forcibly  by  Johann  Jacob  Engel  in 
his  eulogy  of  Lessing/  written  shortly  after  the  latter 's  death: 

Wenn  er  ein  Teutscher  nicht,  wenn  er  ein  Britte  ware, 
So  schlosse  seinen  Sarg  die  Gruft  der  Konige  ein, 
So  wiird'  ein  Volk,  gefiihlvoll  fiir  die  Ehre, 
Ihm  offentlich  ein  ewig  Denkmal  weihen." 

1  See  Archenholz:  A  Picture  of  England.  Vol.  I,  p.  142;  also  Erich  Schmidt: 
Lessing.    2  Vols.    Berlin,  1884.    Vol.  II,  p.  773. 


CHAPTER  V 


CUSTOMS  AND  MANNERS 

Generally  speaking,  the  Englishman  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury was,  as  he  is  today,  a  well  groomed  man,  always  attentive 
to  his  personal  appearance,  always  concerned  to  make  himself 
as  presentable  as  possible  and  frequently  over-mindful  of  the 
dictates  of  fashion.  Neatness  and  cleanliness  of  dress  he 
considered  of  prime  importance,  and  the  man  in  England, 
whether  native  or  foreigner,  who  was  careless  in  this  respect 
inevitably  lowered  himself  as  a  result  in  the  estimation  of  all 
with  whom  he  came  into  contact.  This  fact  Moritz  learned 
to  his  sorrow,  and  he  was  finally  led  to  discontinue  his  foot- 
tour  of  England  because  of  the  cold  reception  his  tramp-like 
appearance,  an  unavoidable  consequence  of  his  manner  of 
travel,  won  for  him  at  the  English  inns.  Germans  who 
familiarized  themselves  to  any  extent  with  British  life  advised 
their  countrymen,  when  in  England,  to  give  careful  attention 
to  their  dress  and  appearance  and,  if  possible,  to  provide 
themselves  with  wardrobes  in  keeping  with  the  demands  of 
English  style,  for  the  man  whose  attire  was  so  peculiar  as  to 
attract  attention  was  liable  to  be  considered  an  inferior  being 
and  to  find  himself  the  frequent  object  of  taunts  and  insults 
from  the  populace.  As  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of  our  study, 
the  English  were  not  credited  with  an  excess  of  kindness  in 
their  treatment  of  the  foreigner,  and  the  latter,  accordingly, 
found  it  to  his  advantage  during  his  sojourn  in  England  to 
act  and  dress  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  native  style. 

The  care  which  the  Englishman  gave  to  his  dress  was  not 
the  sole  cause  of  the  favorable  impression  his  personal  appear- 
ance made  on  the  foreigner.  We  shall  find  later  on  that 
German  writers  had  much  to  say  in  praise  of  the  beauty  of  the 
English-woman,  and  they  usually  agreed  that  the  English 
people  as  a  whole  presented  attractive  physical  characteristics. 

56 


57 


Goede  undertakes  to  give  a  description  of  the  national  type 
"The  physiognomies  of  both  sexes  in  England  are  less  charm- 
ing than  noble  and  distinguished.  A  handsome,  open  fore- 
head, frank  eyes  which  are  less  fiery  than  clear  and  gentle, 
a  nobly  shaped  nose  and  even,  regular  features  characterize 
both  sexes.  Those  distorted  physiognomies,  those  irregularly 
shaped  faces,  those  sharp,  deep-set  features  which  are  so 
often  found  among  other  peoples  are  very  seldom  seen  in 
England.  The  complexion  of  the  men  is  clear  and  ruddy; 
that  of  the  women  is  very  beautiful,  their  skin  is  delicate, 
transparent  and  of  dazzling  whiteness."  When  we  read  what 
Berckenmeyer  has  to  say,  we  wonder  if  this  fine  complexion, 
even  in  the  case  of  men,  is  altogether  natural.  Britain, 
according  to  his  explanation,^  comes  from  "the  old  word 
brit,''  which  means  colored  or  painted,  and  came  to  be  applied 
to  the  country  because  its  warriors  were  accustomed  to  paint 
their  bodies  with  a  certain  herb  in  order  to  make  themselves 
appear  more  terrible  to  their  enemy ;  and  this  means  of  adorn- 
ment the  Englishman  is  said  never  to  have  discarded. 

The  German  usually  compliments  the  Englishman  on  his 
dress  and  personal  appearance,  but  in  this  regard  Pollnitz  is 
an  exception.  He  declares  that  "there's  not  a  people  upon 
the  earth  that  set  themselves  off  so  ill  as  the  English  do,  and 
really  they  had  need  to  be  as  well  shap'd  as  they  are  for  the 
generality,  or  their  dress  would  be  insupportable."  ^  This 
is  to  be  taken  as  a  criticism  of  style  rather  than  of  carelessness 
in  dress,  for  elsewhere^  Pollnitz  tells  us  that  in  general  every- 
body in  England  is  well  clad  and  that  even  the  beggars  do  not 
make  so  ragged  an  appearance  as  they  do  elsewhere.  Moritz, 
after  a  few  days  in  London,  writes:^  "I  have,  in  general,  not 
seen  such  fine  houses  and  streets  as  in  Berlirt,  but  everywhere 
handsomer  people  and  more  of  them.  It  gives  me  genuine 
pleasure  ...  to  meet,  almost  exclusively,  well  dressed  people 
of  all  classes,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  in  the  densest 

^England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  pp.  260-261. 

2  Neuvermehrter  Ciirieuser  Antiquarius,  p.  205. 

3  Memoirs.    Vol.  V,  p.  245. 

4  ibid.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  270. 

6  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  in  England,  p.  16. 


58 


crowds  and  to  see  no  street-vender  without  white  linen  and 
scarcely  a  beggar  who  does  not  at  least  wear  a  clean  shirt 
beneath  his  ragged  clothing."  According  to  Goede,^  the  newly 
arrived  foreigner  was  so  struck  with  the  clean,  attractive 
dress  of  the  people  he  saw  in  the  streets  of  English  towns  that 
he  involuntarily  asked  whether  they  were  not  adorned  for  some 
especial  occasion,  only  to  learn  that  he  was  viewing  the  usual, 
every-day  scene.  The  frequent  allusions  to  the  cleanliness 
of  the  English  people  lead  us  to  suspect  that  this  virtue  was 
not  quite  so  common  on  the  Continent  as  it  might  have  been. 
We  learn  from  the  Sittengemdlde  von  London,'^  to  which  refer- 
ence has  already  been  made  (p.  35)  that  "cleanliness  in  the 
highest  degree  is  everywhere  prevalent  among  them  [the 
English].  It  is  the  rule  in  the  dwellings,  as  well  as  in  the 
clothing,  especially  the  linen,  of  all,  even  of  the  lowest  class." 
And  Kiittner  tells  us  that,  while  the  Englishman  dresses  with 
the  greatest  simplicity,  his  linen  is  of  the  finest  quality  and  is 
always  immaculate  and  that  the  materials  of  his  clothing  are 
the  very  best  to  be  had.^ 

The  uniformity  of  dress  that  prevailed  was  another  feature 
that  attracted  the  attention  of  German  visitors.  There  was 
nothing  in  England  to  correspond  to  the  picturesque  costumes 
of  the  German  peasants,  nor  was  there  the  great  difference  in 
dress  between  the  higher  and  lower  classes  that  was  to  be  seen 
on  the  Continent.  In  this  connection  Goede  says:'*  "In 
England  it  will  be  impossible  for  the  foreigner  to  distinguish 
the  merchant  from  the  lord  and  from  the  scholar;  even  the 
shop-keeper,  even  many  workmen  can  mingle  with  the  others 
without  revealing  their  identity."  On  this  point  we  also  read 
in  Wendeborn:^  "In  Germany  the  clothing  of  the  common 
man,  of  the  artisan  and  the  man  of  means  varies  in  quality. 
Of  all  this  but  little  is  found  in  England.  The  materials  which 
are  made  for  the  common  people  and  for  poor  people  are  not 
so  abundant,  and  few  there  are  who  will  wear  them.  .  .  . 

1  England,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  4. 

^Neue  AUgemeine  deutsche  Bihliothek.    Vol.  LXXVII  (1803),  pt.  i,  p.  150. 
3  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  Frankreich,  p.  97. 
^  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  262. 
6  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  150. 


59 


Every  one  wants  to  wear  fine  clothes,  and  those  who  can  not 
procure  new  garments  buy  discarded  ones  second  hand,  so 
that  they  may  at  least  present  a  'shabby  genteel'  appearance." 

If  we  are  to  accept  the  German  opinion,  we  must  believe 
that  no  other  nation  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  so  much 
the  slave  of  fashion  as  the  English.  This  opinion  seems  to 
have  become  more  prevalent  toward  the  close  of  the  century. 
Archenholz  makes  frequent  mention  of  the  Englishman's 
custom  of  adorning  himself  always  according  to  the  latest 
style;  in  1785  he  writes  as  follows:^  "The  English  are  un- 
fortunately led  away  beyond  all  the  other  countries  in  Europe 
by  the  luxury  of  dress,  which  every  day  seems  to  increase. 
Twenty  years  ago  gold  and  silver  lace  was  not  worn  but  at 
court  and  the  theaters;  persons  elegantly  attired  always  rode 
in  carriages.  .  .  .  One  now  often  meets  with  laced  clothes; 
even  the  common  people  sometimes  appear  in  embroidered 
vests.  In  general,  however,  the  English  still  wear  plain  broad- 
cloth both  in  summer  and  winter,  but  it  is  of  the  finest  kind: 
a  common  tradesman  will  use  no  other."  In  1796,  if  we  may 
trust  this  same  authority ,2  one  folly  succeeded  another  in 
the  world  of  fashion;  in  the  winter,  women's  elbows  were  bare, 
but  as  summer  approached  the  style  required  that  the  entire 
arm  should  be  covered  and  that  the  lower  part  of  the  sleeve 
should  be  profusely  adorned.  In  the  Gbttingisches  Historisches 
Magazin  of  the  year  1787^  is  found  an  interesting  article  on 
British  customs,  from  which  we  take  the  following  account 
of  the  fashions:  "Despite  the  fact  that  bag- wigs  [Haarbeutel] 
and  French  styles  are  seen  only  at  court,  the  daily  attire  and 
adornment  of  the  young  Englishman  or  Irishman  requires  at 
least  as  much  time  as  the  most  magnificent  dress  of  state. 
The  dandies,  who  carry  on  their  flirtations  in  the  most  im- 
maculate garb,  put  on  in  the  morning  fresh  linen  and  an 
especial  suit  and  have  their  hair  carefully  dressed.  All  this 
is  repeated  towards  noon,  and  it  may  be  easily  imagined  how 

^  A  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  114. 
2  Annalen,  etc.    Vol.  XIX,  p.  343. 

^  Gottingisches  Historisches  Magazin  von  E.  Meiners  und  L.  T.  Spittler. 
8  Vols.  Hanover,  1787-91.  Vol.  I,  pt.  i,  p.  157  (Letter  from  Ireland.  Dec. 
1786). 


60 


much  time  is  lost  in  the  preparation  of  the  toilette  and  under 
the  hands  of  the  hairdresser."  As  to  the  absolute  sway  of 
fashion,  Goede  gives  testimony "It  is  only  in  England  that 
Fashion  has  subjugated  all  classes.  Youth  and  Old  Age  do 
homage  to  her;  she  comprises  all  transitory  external  adorn- 
ments, which  she  produces  in  ever  changing  forms,  and  reigns 
with  equal  power  in  the  remote,  as  in  the  nearer  parts  of  the 
kingdom.  It  is  remarkable  how  quickly  and  how  generally 
Fashion  effects  her  transformations  in  England." 

Every  visitor  to  a  foreign  land  finds  many  customs  that  are 
new  and  strange  to  him.  This  was  particularly  true  in  the 
case  of  Germans  who  visited  England  a  century  and  a  half 
ago.  So  striking  were  the  peculiarities  of  the  British  people 
to  Archenholz  that  he  begins  his  Picture  of  England  with  the 
following  observations:  "The  island  of  Great  Britain  is  so 
different  from  all  the  other  states  of  Europe  in  the  form  of  its 
government,  its  laws,  its  customs,  its  manners  and  the  mode 
of  thinking  and  acting  adopted  by  its  inhabitants  that  it 
seemxS  rather  to  belong  to  some  other  globe  than  that  on  which 
we  live."  Elsewhere  Archenholz  quotes  from  an  old  English 
song  the  lines,  "The  highest  in  the  world  has  changed  to  the 
lowest,  since  my  old  hat  was  new,"  and  he  declares  that  this 
statement  is  more  applicable  to  the  British  than  to  any  other 
people "They  breakfast  at  noon,  have  dinner  in  the  evening 
and  supper  in  the  morning.  Women  apply  themselves  assidu- 
ously to  the  arts  and  sciences  and  gentlemen  of  polite  society 
to  the  acquisition  of  a  knowledge  of  ribbons,  trimmings  and 
perfumeries.  Wealthy  lords  manage  their  own  estates,  keep 
their  own  accounts  and  ponder  day  and  night  over  profitable 
investments  for  their  money.  Merchants  keep  fast  horses 
for  the  races,  dine  in  taverns  at  five  guineas  each  and  spend  their 
nights  at  games  of  chance.  Actors  and  actresses  teach  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  rank  the  rules  of  etiquette  and  good  form, 
while  other  lords  with  their  ladies  vie  with  each  other  in 
shining  at  private  theaters,  where  they  pla}/  comedy  for  the 
amusement  of  the  invited  comedians." 

1  England,  etc.  Vol.  II,  p.  263. 
^  Annalen,  etc.    Vol.  V,  p.  318. 


61 

English  society  struck  the  German  as  being  extremely  un- 
conventional, for  at  home  and  likewise  in  France,  where  he 
frequently  traveled,  he  was  accustomed  to  a  superabundance 
of  social  ceremony  and  was  hampered  in  his  intercourse  with 
his  fellows  by  innumerable  fixed  rules  of  etiquette.  Like  many 
of  his  other  outstanding  characteristics,  the  Englishman's 
neglect  of  ceremony  was  attributed  to  his  spirit  of  freedom. 
He  was  said  to  be  guided  by  the  opinion  that  he  need  follow 
the  dictates  of  good  breeding  only  in  so  far  as  they  did  not 
conflict  with  his  own  convenience  or  his  own  inclinations.  In 
consequence  of  this  latitude — so  Zimmermann  discovers  with 
surprise^ — "it  is  no  harm  to  throw  one's  self  back  in  an 
elbow-chair  when  tired  of  sitting  upright,  and  you  may  invite 
your  friends  to  eat  and  drink  with  you  at  all  hours  and  all 
seasons,  whether  to  breakfast,  dinner  or  supper,  or  whether 
you  have  roast  or  boiled  meat  to  give  them."  Such  a  dis- 
regard of  convention  Pollnitz  is  inclined  to  consider  a  virtue, 
and  in  his  comparison  of  the  French  with  the  English  on  this 
score  the  former  appear  at  a  disadvantage "It  seems  to  me 
that  the  English  are  not  the  slaves  of  that  tyrant  custom,  and 
choose  to  follow  their  genius  and  good  sense.  They  don't 
surfeit  themselves  with  those  nothings  which  the  French  call 
politeness  and  which  seem  to  be  invented  only  to  pass  away 
the  time.  ...  To  speak  my  mind  plainly,  if  I  were  twenty 
years  of  age,  I  could  like  to  become  a  complete  Frenchman, 
but  now  that  I  am  forty  I  am  perfectly  reconciled  to  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  English."  Archenholz  states^ 
that  "a  traveler,  more  especially  if  he  passes  immediately  from 
France  to  Great  Britain,  in  looking  for  that  politeness  at  once 
so  splendid  and  so  trifling  which  he  has  been  used  to,  will  not 
fail  to  imagine  the  English  rude  and  uncultivated;  and  this, 
merely  because  he  does  not  give  himself  the  trouble  to  search 
beyond  the  surface  of  their  character."  Forster  seems  to 
have  been  such  a  traveler,  despite  the  fact  that  he  resided 
long  in  England  and,  as  we  have  already  learned,  was  in 

1  Vom  Nationalstolze,  p.  120.  (The  translation  of  Wilcocke,  p.  118,  is  quoted 
here.) 

"^Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  288  (Whatley's  translation). 
3  A  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  52. 


62 


general  quite  an  ardent  admirer  of  English  culture.  He  gives 
an  account  of  society  in  London,  from  which  we  quote  the 
following,  not  very  flattering  statements ■}  ''Everywhere  social 
intercourse  is  stiff  and  awkward.  Before  dinner  people  sit 
motionless  in  their  chairs,  have  little  to  say,  cross  their  arms 
and  appear  bored  till  dinner  is  announced.  Then  the  women 
flock  into  the  dining-room  like  cranes;  nobody  escorts  them. 
Drinks  are  ordered  as  at  a  tavern,  or  small  drinking  parties 
are  formed,  and  after  dinner  toasts  are  drunk.  .  .  .  Only  in 
the  West  End  are  napkins  in  use;  in  the  City  they  are  never 
seen.  Small  dishes  are  found  only  in  the  aristocratic  district; 
in  the  eastern  part  they  eat  all  sorts  of  things  from  the  same 
plate."  Quite  different  is  the  view  of  English  society  given 
by  Wendeborn.  The  German  clergyman  frequently  voices 
his  high  regard  for  the  Englishman  as  a  social  being,  and  the 
social  life  of  London  is  altogether  to  his  liking:^  "There  is 
just  as  much  cheerfulness  and  good  humor  in  English  social 
gatherings  as  in  those  of  any  other  nation.  Yet  to  my  great 
pleasure  I  have  observed  the  absence  here  of  that  stiffness, 
that  effort  to  appear  clever,  that  spirit  of  contention  which  is 
so  annoying  in  other  countries.  .  .  .  The  conversation  of  an 
Englishman  is  by  no  means  so  animated,  so  loud,  so  ingratiat- 
ing as  that  of  some  other  peoples,  but  to  me  it  is  the  most 
pleasing  of  all.  If  it  is  true  that  an  Englishman  talks  less, 
still,  he  often  says  more  in  ten  words  than  others  do  in  a 
hundred.  If  he  assures  me  with  a  word  and  a  clasp  of  the 
hand  that  he  is  my  friend,  I  believe  him  on  his  single  word 
more  readily  than  on  a  hundred  wretched,  trivial  compli- 
ments." 

While  the  Englishman  usually  appeared,  in  the  eyes  of 
foreigners,  to  be  of  a  serious,  even  of  a  melancholy  tempera- 
ment, he  has  always  been  known  to  be  fond  of  all  kinds  of 
amusements  and  to  enter  into  his  play  with  the  same  enthu- 
siasm that  carries  him  to  success  in  his  work.  Toze,  whose 
statements — since  he  was  never  in  England  himself — may  be 
taken  as  representing  the  general  impression  that  was  current 

1  Ansichten,  etc.,  p.  376. 

2  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  pp.  284-285. 


63 


on  the  continent,  attributes  to  the  English  a  great  fondness 
for  diversions  and  entertainments  of  all  kinds,  including^ 
plays,  operas,  concerts,  balls,  masquerades,  assemblies,  routs, 
clubs  and  horse  races." 

Since  the  amusements  of  a  nation  are  among  those  customs 
that  undergo  decided  changes  in  the  course  of  time,  we  must 
bear  in  mind  that  Pollnitz  is  describing  conditions  as  he  found 
them  in  the  early  part  of  the  century  [i 729-1 733],  when  we 
read  the  following  extract  from  his  Memoirs:'^  "The  nobility, 
the  citizens  and  the  lower  rank  of  the  people  have,  all,  their 
recreations;  and  whereas  in  other  countries  the  rich  alone 
seem  to  have  a  right  to  pleasures,  the  English  nation  has 
diversions  for  all  classes,  and  the  mechanic,  as  well  as  his 
lordship,  knows  how  to  make  himself  merry  when  he  has  done 
his  day's  work.  The  English  are  very  much  for  shows. 
Battles,  especially,  of  what  nature  soever,  are  an  agreeable 
amusement  to  them,  and  of  these  they  have  all  kinds.  Some- 
times they  engage  bulls  with  other  beasts,  and  at  other  times 
they  have  cock-fighting.  .  .  .  The  battles  of  animals  are  not 
the  only  ones  to  be  seen  in  England,  there  being  very  often 
combats  of  gladiators,  when  the  wretches  for  pitiful  lucre 
fight  with  one  another  at  swords  and  very  often  wound  each 
other  cruelly.  The  English  delight  very  much  in  this  sort  of 
prize-fighting;  they  shout  loud  applauses  when  either  of  the 
two  wounds  his  antagonist.  And  when  the  battle  is  over, 
the  two  combatants  shake  hands  and  make  each  other  a  low 
bow  to  show  they  don't  bear  one  another  malice." 

Some  of  the  amusements  of  the  English  were  attended  with 
such  cruelty  as  to  shock  the  foreigner,  who  often  received  the 
impression  that  the  nation  was  lacking  in  sympathetic  feelings. 
Soon  after  his  arrival  in  England  in  1767  Wendeborn  had 
occasion  to  revise  his  opinion  of  the  Englishman  on  account 
of  the  horse  races  and  bull  fights  which  he  witnessed  in  Nor- 
thampton. Nor  did  a  parliamentary  election,  characterized 
by  "bribes,  party  spirit,  drunkenness  and  fighting,"  find 

^  Toze,  M.  E.    The  Present  State  of  Europe,  translated  from  the  German  by 
Thos.  Nugent.    3  Vols.    London,  1770.    Vol.  II,  p.  205. 
2  Vol.  V,  p.  246,  ff.  (Whatley's  translation). 


6 


64 


greater  favor  with  him.  "All  these  things,"  he  writes  in  his 
Memoirs,^  "were  very  striking  to  me  and  my  moral  feelings 
were  so  often  wounded  by  them  that  I  was  compelled  to 
lower  not  a  little  the  exalted  conception  of  the  Englishman's 
character  which  I  had  brought  with  me  across  the  sea." 
Wendeborn  points  out  many  evident  traces  of  old  Roman  and 
Saxon  customs  in  the  England  of  his  day,  and  he  declares 
that  he  is  often  astonished  to  find  so  many  analogies  between 
Roman  and  English  history.  "I  only  wish,"  he  says  in  this 
connection ,2  "that  I  did  not  have  to  add  that  the  character 
of  the  Romans  under  the  triumvirates  is  quite  applicable  to 
the  English  of  today.  It  has  long  since  been  observed  that 
the  English  nation  inherits  its  fondness  for  all  kinds  of  spec- 
tacles from  the  Romans;  and  even  if  the  present  shows  are 
free  from  the  horrors  which  even  the  Roman  woman  could 
witness  in  cold  blood,  yet  the  days  on  which  criminals  are 
hanged  at  Tyburn  are  a  sort  of  holiday  for  the  London  popu- 
lace, and  thousands  of  spectators  of  both  sexes  see  a  half 
dozen  unhappy  fellow-creatures  deprived  of  existence  by  means 
of  a  rope,  just  as  cheerfully  as  Roman  citizens  of  all  classes 
saw  the  gladiators  break  each  other's  necks  in  their  combats." 

Toward  the  end  of  the  century  we  find  frequent  statements 
to  the  effect  that  the  Englishman's  ideas  of  enjoyment  are 
undergoing  a  change.  Boxing  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
gladiatorial  combats  described  by  Pollnitz,  but  this  sport 
itself  appears  none  too  civilized  to  German  observers.^  Kiitt- 
ner  finds  that  the  taste  for  horse-racing  is  by  no  means  so 
strong  as  it  once  was,  particularly  among  the  higher  classes,* 
and  Archenholz  states^  that  "the  nation  already  begins  to  be 
less  attached  to  hunting  and  to  feel  a  greater  passion  for  the 
fine  arts  and  everything  that  can  add  to  the  pleasures  of  a 
sensuous  life."  The  Englishman's  enthusiasm  for  all  kinds 
of  games  of  chance,  for  speculation  and  wagers,  was  so  great 

^  Erinnerungen,  p.  83. 

2  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  249. 

3  See,  for  example,  Jos.  Albr.  v.  Ittner's  Schriften.  3  Vols.  Freiburg,  1827- 
28.    Vol.  II.    "Boxerei,"  p.  321,  ff. 

4  A.  d.  B.,  Vol.  CX  (1792),  pt.  I,  p.  216. 
^Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  127. 


65 


that  in  the  eyes  of  our  German  friends,  it  amounted  to  a 
serious  vice.  According  again  to  Archenholz,^  "a  love  of 
what  is  singular  and  extraordinary  occasions  that  spirit  of 
gambling  which  is  so  general  in  England.  .  .  .  Such  is  the 
passion  of  the  English  for  play  that  every  dispute  is  generally 
decided  by  a  bet." 

No  other  form  of  diversion  had  a  greater  appeal  for  the 
eighteenth  century  Englishman  than  theater-going,  and  the 
theater  was  to  foreign  visitors  one  of  the  most  interesting 
institutions  of  the  country.      As  to  plays,"  writes  PoUnitz,^ 

the  English  are  fond  of  *em  and  have  more  of  them  than  any 
other  nation."  In  his  praise  of  English  theaters  Archenholz 
is  especially  enthusiastic;  in  them  he  finds  united^  ''all  the 
efforts  of  art,  the  elegance  of  composition  and  the  flights  of  the 
imagination."  Wendeborn  considers  no  place  better  than 
the  theater  for  studying  the  national  character:*  ''Aristo- 
crats and  plebeans  are  present,  and  the  latter  are  bent  on 
demonstrating  that  they  consider  themselves  quite  as  good 
as  the  former.  The  upper  gallery  of  the  play-house,  which 
the  populace  occupies,  usually  governs  the  entire  house,  and 
the  actors  must  be  guided  largely  by  their  commands  and 
their  humor." 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  German  comedies  were 
frequently  shocking  to  the  Englishman's  sense  of  propriety 
and  were  presented  on  the  English  stage  only  in  carefully 
expurgated  versions.  In  connection  with  this  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  Germans  could  also  find  English  plays  shocking. 
This  was  the  case  with  Forster  :^  "The  character  of  the  English 
combines  good-nature,  sentimentality,  roughness  and  sensu- 
ousness.  Hence  there  is  in  their  plays  so  much  excellence, 
ingenuousness,  together  with  so  much  indecency.  The  French 
have  more  regard  for  the  proprieties  and  say  nothing  in  public 
which  a  lady  of  refinement  might  not  repeat." 

The  behavior  of  the  audience  in  English  theaters  must  have 

1  ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  142. 

2  Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  299. 

3  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  160. 
*  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  IV,  p.  437. 

^  Ansichten,  etc.,  p.  363. 


66 


been  frequently  quite  as  diverting  as  the  play  itself.  Moritz 
complains^  of  the  disturbances  he  experienced  and  refers  par- 
ticularly to  the  shouting  and  the  hurling  of  oranges  and  other 
missiles  from  the  galleries.  Ill-bred  in  the  extreme  was  the 
English  theater  public,  according  to  the  characterization  of 
Schutz.2  The  occupants  of  the  gallery  were  not  satisfied  with 
throwing  orange  peels  into  the  parterre  and  the  boxes,  but 
frequently  threw  glasses  of  water  as  well,  injuring  the  spec- 
tators and  ruining  their  clothing;  and  Kiittner  deplored  the 
absence  of  the  gendarmes  who  kept  order  in  French  theaters,^ 
especially  when  he  was  annoyed  by  drunken  men,  whom  no  one 
attempted  to  have  removed,  and  by  coarse,  ill-bred  people, 
who  had  no  regard  for  decency  and  who  frequently  put  an 
end  to  the  play  by  their  quarrelling,  fighting  and  shouting. 

Since  theater-going  in  England  was  attended  with  such 
difficulties,  it  was  fortunate  that  the  plays  themselves  and  the 
efforts  of  the  actors  found  favor  with  foreign  as  well  as  native 
spectators.  In  fact,  adverse  criticism  such  as  appears  in  an 
anonymous  letter  to  the  Merkur  for  April,  1785,  is  quite 
rare:^  "I  must  confess  that  I  have  found  no  masters  of 
declamation  on  the  English  stage.  They  usually  have  a 
dragging  accent  at  the  end  of  the  verse  or  sentence  and  always 
exaggerate  in  the  pathetic  parts.  Their  action  is  stiff  and 
monotonous,  and  decorations  and  costumes  are  anything  but 
excellent."  Count  Frederick  von  Kielmansegge,  who,  in 
company  with  his  brother,  went  to  England  in  1761  to  attend 
the  coronation  of  King  George  III  and  Queen  Sophia  Charlotte, 
Princess  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  represents  more  accurately 
the  prevailing  German  opinion  of  the  English  theater:^  "I 
certainly  believe  that  there  is  no  stage  in  the  world  which 
equals  the  English  in  its  choice  of  actors;  at  Drury  Lane,  for 

1  Reisen  in  England,  p.  42. 

2  N.  A.  d.  B.,  Vol.  V  (1793),  pt.  I,  p.  279. 

3  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  Frankreich,  p.  96. 

4  p.  190. 

5  Diary  of  a  Journey  to  England  in  the  years  1761-62,  trans,  from  the  ms.  by- 
Countess  Kielmansegg.    London,  New  York  and  Bombay.    1902.    p.  195. 

Count  Kielmansegge  was  a  first  cousin  of  Sir  William  Howe,  who  was  in 
command  of  the  British  forces  in  America,  1 776-1 778. 


67 


example,  you  have  an  impression  that  every  actor  has  been 
expressly  made  for  his  part.  Garrick  is,  however,  the  only 
one  who  can  delineate  every  character  with  equal  skill,  from 
the  philosopher  down  to  the  fool,  from  the  king  to  the  peasant, 
and  who  appears  to  put  on  a  different  face  with  each  char- 
acter." Elsewhere^  Kielmansegge  refers  to  the  English  stage 
as  one  "which  has  no  superior  in  the  world,  and  on  which 
everything  is  produced  with  the  highest  degree  of  truth." 

The  praise  given  by  German  visitors  to  certain  actors  is 
very  generous.  Of  this,  as  might  be  expected,  the  famous 
Shakespeare  player,  Garrick,  receives  the  largest  share. 
Lichtenberg's  Brief e  aus  England'^  contain  a  lengthy  and  inter- 
esting discussion  of  the  personality  and  art  of  this  great  genius, 
as  well  as  of  several  other  actors,  including  Mrs.  Abington 
and  the  Barrys.  The  Germans  who  saw  Garrick  agreed  that 
his  acting  was  unsurpassed.^  From  the  acting  of  Mrs. 
Siddons  Hassel  derived  a  new  conception  of  dramatic  art; 
he  declared^  that  it  was  well  worth  a  trip  to  England  to  see 
with  what  sublimity,  nobility  and  delicacy  this  actress  repre- 
sented the  emotions  of  joy  and  sorrow.  In  his  praise  of 
Kemble  Forster  is  less  extravagant,  but  the  dignity  of  this 
actor  and  of  English  actors  in  general  in  serious  roles  he  finds 
very  commendable.  He  gives  an  interesting  explanation  of 
the  English  actor's  superiority  in  parts  requiring  dignity  of 
bearing:^  ''This  dignity,  this  loftiness  in  the  roles  of  kings  and 
heroes  I  have  never  seen  on  the  German  stage,  because  here 
the  action  in  such  parts  is  not  natural  eliou'gh,  or,  perhaps,  is 
too  natural.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  familiarity 
of  intercourse  among  people  of  all  classes  in  England,  and  the 
nobility  which  is  so  apparent  here  in  the  culture  and  character 
even  of  the  lowest  classes — however  much  it  is  mixed  with 
narrow-mindedness  and  ignorance  of  certain  subjects — natu- 
rally ennoble  the  actor." 

^  ibid.,  p.  222. 

2  Gedanken,  Satiren,  Fragmente.  2  Vols.  Jena,  1907.  Vol.  II,  p.  72  ff . 
These  letters  were  addressed  to  Boie  and  first  appeared  in  the  Deutsches  Museum 
in  1776  and  1778. 

3  See,  for  instance,  Wendeborn:  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  IV,  p.  456. 
*  N.  A.  d.  B.  (1793)-    Vol.  II,  pt.  2,  p.  323. 

5  Ansickten,  etc.,  p.  365. 


68 


Wendeborn  and  Goede  give  it  as  the  general  opinion  that 
the  EngHsh  take  more  interest  in  tragedy  than  in  comedy  and 
that  their  actors  appear  to  better  advantage  in  serious  than  in 
lighter  roles. ^  This  was  by  no  means  the  view  of  all  Germans 
who  visited  England,  and  Wendeborn  himself  states  that  this 
condition  seems  to  have  changed,  since  three  times  as  many 
comedies  as  tragedies  were  being  written  and  played  toward 
the  close  of  the  century.  To  Baron  Bielfeld  English  comedy 
was  more  pleasing  than  English  tragedy,  as  appears  from  the 
following :2  "The  first  time  I  was  at  an  English  tragedy  the 
action  of  the  performers  appeared  to  me  quite  extravagant, 
and  the  sound  of  their  voices  seemed  in  my  ears  like  frightful 
bowlings:  and  though  I  still  find  their  manner  in  general 
outree,  yet  it  does  not  shock  me  as  at  first;  I  sometimes  dis- 
cover a  truth  and  always  an  extraordinary  power,  which,  in 
the  most  pathetic  parts  of  the  piece,  does  not  fail  to  have 
great  effect.  .  .  .  The  English  comedy  is  my  delight.  I  there 
find  a  vivacity  and  a  resemblance  of  nature  that  is  admirable." 
With  this  last  opinion  Uffenbach  is  in  hearty  agreement:^ 
"As  for  English  comedies,  I  must  confess  that  they  are  in- 
comparable and  that  the  English  represent  in  a  very  natural 
way  their  personages  and  passions." 

An  institution  that  invariably  won  the  admiration  of  Ger- 
man visitors  was  the  English  home,  and  the  family  life  of  the 
nation  was  held  to  be  little  short  of  ideal.  One  of  the  English- 
man's chief  aims  was  the  establishment  of  a  comfortable 
domicile,  and  especially  gratifying  did  he  find  it,  if  he  could 
own  even  a  modest  estate  in  the  country.  Even  in  Ireland, 
according  to  Kiittner,*  such  country  seats  were  much  more 
numerous  than  in  France  or  Germany,  and  in  England  they 
were  so  general  that  "many  clergymen,  physicians,  small 
merchants,  and,  in  short,  citizens  of  all  kinds,  had  their 
country  places."  We  have  already  seen  that  the  external 
appearance  of  the  houses  did  not  appeal  to  the  German  visitor, 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  IV.,  p.  438;  England,  etc.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  222,  p.  252, 

2  Letters.    Vol.  IV,  p.  64. 

^  Merkwiirdige  Reisen.    Vol.  II,  p.  443. 

^  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  Frankreich,  p.  241. 


69 


but  once  he  had  entered  an  EngHsh  home,  his  impressions 
were  altogether  more  favorable.  Biischel  found  the  interior 
of  the  houses  to  be  much  neater  and  more  attractive  in 
England  than  in  his  own  country.  "  In  regard  to  the  arrange- 
ment and  decoration  of  the  rooms,"  he  writes,^  "English 
women  rival  those  of  every  other  nation.  The  commonest 
handicraftsman  has  in  addition  to  his  work-room  at  least  one 
room  in  which  he  receives  strangers  and  in  which  nothing  is  to 
be  seen  that  suggests  his  trade." 

The  home  life  of  the  English  is  strongly  eulogized  by  Goede ; 
he  finds  here  one  of  the  important  points  of  England's  superi- 
ority over  France.  ''Travelers  have  often  observed,"  he 
writes,^  ''that  the  English  present  their  most  attractive  side 
in  their  domestic  life  and  that  they  cultivate  all  family  rela- 
tions with  great  tenderness  and  noble  artlessness.  The  Eng- 
lish believe  that  they  owe  this  advantage  to  the  female  sex, 
whose  fine  feeling,  whose  delicate  sense  of  domesticity  casts 
charm  and  serenity  over  their  family  life." 

The  mutual  relations  of  parent  and  child  were  usually 
described  as  admirable.  We  have  it  on  the  rather  doubtful 
authority  of  Berckenmeyer^  that  children  had  such  great 
respect  as  to  fall  frequently  upon  their  knees  before  their 
parents,  and  to  beg  of  them  every  morning  and  every  evening 
a  blessing.  The  parents'  side  of  the  case  is  presented  somewhat 
more  reliably  by  Moritz  •}  "  Even  those  of  low  rank  seem  to  be 
very  kind  and  indulgent  toward  their  children  and  not  to 
stifle  their  spirit  by  beating  them  and  scolding  them  so  much 
as  is  done  among  the  populace  in  Germany.  The  children 
must  learn  very  early  to  respect  themselves,  while  in  Germany 
the  parents  among  the  lower  classes  rear  their  children  to  the 
very  same  slavery  under  which  they  themselves  groan."  The 
foreigner  observed  that  the  relations  in  which  parents  and 
children  lived  showed  more  refinement  than  was  usually  the 
case  in  other  countries.  Although  the  children  were  very 
respectful,  they  were  never  seen  to  approach  their  parents  in 

^  Neiie  Reisen,  p.  208. 

2  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  292. 

^  Neuvermehrter  Curieuser  Antiquarius,  p.  211. 

*  Reisen  .  .  .  in  England,  p.  49. 


70 


a  shy,  frightened  manner.  In  general  the  English  family  in 
its  domestic  relations  appeared  neither  as  sentimental  on  the 
one  hand  nor  as  cold  and  indifferent  on  the  other  as  that  of 
other  nationalities.  A  clear  insight  into  this  aspect  of  the 
English  character  is  obtained  from  the  following  view  of 
Goede;!  ''Since  family  life  in  general  is  looked  on  in  England 
as  a  magic  circle  which  embraces  all  earthly  happiness,  parents 
have  a  particularly  high  regard  for  their  children.  But 
Englishmen  abhor  the  appearance  of  sentimentality.  With  a 
sentimental  Frenchman  every  other  word  is  heart.  In  England 
I  have  heard  only  anatomists,  clergymen  and  actors  speak 
of  the  human  heart;  but  the  judgment  of  all  who  have  had 
opportunity  to  observe  the  English  people  for  any  length  of 
time  is  that  the  impulses  of  tender  affection,  intimate  friend- 
ship and  touching  gratitude  penetrate  the  hearts  of  English- 
men with  a  vigor  and  warmth  that  permeates  the  whole  being. 
The  outward  control  of  the  feelings  is  among  Englishmen  a 
rule  of  good  breeding  which  they  impart  to  their  children 
from  early  youth." 

In  Pollnitz'  day  a  visit  to  an  English  home  was  all  the  more 
pleasant  on  account  of  a  practice,  later  discontinued,  of  which 
he  writes  with  some  enthusiasm:-^  "There's  one  custom  estab- 
lished in  these  houses  which,  to  be  sure,  you  would  not  dislike, 
viz.,  that  at  the  first  time  of  a  man's  introduction  to  a  family, 
he  salutes  the  mistress  of  the  house  with  a  kiss,  which  tho' 
but  a  very  modest  one,  'tis  a  pleasure  to  see  a  colour  come  into 
the  lady's  cheeks,  as  if  they  had  committed  a  fault."  That 
this  was  not  an  innovation  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but 
rather  a  waning  custom  may  be  deduced  from  a  letter  which 
Erasmus  of  Rotterdam  wrote  from  England  in  1499  to  his 
friend  Faustus  Andrelinus,  an  Italian  poet,  urging  him  to 
forget  his  gout  and  melancholy  and  come  to  England:^  "for 
here,"  the  letter  runs,  "girls  with  the  faces  of  angels  are  so 

1  England,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  206. 

2  Memoirs.  Vol.  Ill,  p.  297.  The  atrocious  character  of  the  English  in  this 
passage  is  a  significant  commentary  on  the  merits  of  eighteenth  century  English 
versions  of  German  works. 

^  Opus  Epistolarum  Des.  Erasmi  Roterodami.  3  Vols,  Oxford,  1906-13. 
Vol.  I,  p.  238. 


71 


kind  and  gracious  that  you  would  prefer  them  to  all  your 
muses.  Wherever  you  go  you  are  received  by  all  with  kisses; 
when  you  take  your  leave,  you  are  dismissed  with  kisses; 
you  return,  the  kisses  are  repeated.  They  come  to  visit  you, 
kisses  again;  they  leave  you,  kisses  all  around.  Should  you 
meet  each  other  anywhere,  kisses  in  rich  profusion;  in  short, 
wherever  you  go  or  stay,  there's  nothing  but  kisses."  ^ 

Regarding  British  hospitality  there  is  no  scarcity  of  German 
comment.  That  the  English  have  always  found  it  their  chief 
delight  to  entertain  their  own  friends  and  kinsmen,  to  keep 
open  house  to  their  own  circle,  is  well  known;  but  it  is  the 
reception  which  an  outsider  might  expect  at  their  hands  that 
concerns  us  chiefly  here.  There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  general 
opinion  on  the  Continent;  it  was  that  the  English  were  none 
too  hospitable  toward  foreigners.  But  the  writings  of  the 
majority  of  the  Germans  who  visited  England  and  came  into 
close  contact  with  the  English  people  undoubtedly  tended  to 
remove  this  impression  from  the  minds  of  their  countrymen. 

Since  Moritz  seems  to  have  fared  worse  than  any  of  the 
others,  we  will  let  him  speak  first.  He  relates  the  difficulties 
he  experienced  at  a  number  of  inns,  among  them,  one  in  the 
vicinity  of  Oxford:^  "Finally  I  ordered  a  pitcher  of  beer, 
which  I  obtained  for  spot  cash,  but  a  piece  of  bread,  for 
which  I  should  likewise  have  been  glad  to  pay,  was  refused  me. 
Such  an  astonishing  lack  of  hospitality  I  had  certainly  not 
expected  at  an  English  inn.  But  I  wished  to  try  everything 
possible,  in  order  to  see  how  far  the  incivility  of  these  people 
would  go.  I  requested,  accordingly,  that  they  allow  me  to 
sleep  on  a  bench  and  give  me  shelter,  offering  to  pay  as  much 
as  for  a  bed,  for  I  was  so  tired  that  I  could  not  possibly  go 
farther.  But  while  I  was  still  making  this  proposal,  the  door 
was  slammed  in  my  face."  An  anonymous  German  writer 
was  not  long  in  explaining  the  cause  of  Moritz'  troubles.^ 

^  Just  when  this  custom  died  out  has  not  been  ascertained.  As  late  as 
1783,  at  any  rate,  Biischel  (Neue  Reisen,  etc.  p.  230)  could  speak  of  being 
"received  and  dismissed  by  a  beautiful  lady  with  a  kiss"  as  quite  the  usual 
thing. 

2  Reisen  .  .  .  in  England,  p.  89. 

^  Anmerkungen  und  Erinnerungen  iiber  Herrn  Prof.  Moritzens  Brief e  aus 
England  von  einem  Deutschen,  der  auch  in  England  gewesen  ist.  Allgemeine 
Liter aturzeitung.    1785,  Vol.  I,  No.  64,  p.  267. 


72 


In  the  first  place,  he  traveled  on  foot,  which  in  itself  was  no 
recommendation,  and  then  he  was  taken  for  a  Dutchman  or 
a  Frenchman,  and,  therefore,  a  political  enemy.  No  other 
Europeans  were  known  to  the  ordinary  Englishman,  and  not 
to  one  in  ten  would  it  occur  that  Moritz  was  of  German 
nationality. 

The  other  side  of  the  case  is  presented  by  Biischel,  whose 
purpose  in  his  Neue  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  nach  und  in  England 
im  Jahre  1783  was  to  correct  and  supplement  some  impressions 
given  by  Moritz.  After  a  number  of  little  excursions  into 
the  country  near  London,  Biischel  writes:^  "Never  shall  I  be 
able  to  praise  enough  the  hospitality  of  the  Englishmen,  who 
entertained  me,  although  I  had  only  recently  become  ac- 
quainted with  them,  nor  their  kindness  and  attentiveness  to 
me."  Baron  Bielfeld  declares  that  the  continental  impression 
of  English  lack  of  hospitality  is  based  on  conditions  prevailing 
only  in  London.  "But  go  into  the  country,"  he  advises  his 
friend ,2  "and  they  will  give  you  a  reception  that  is  equally 
polite  and  hearty;  they  will  load  you  with  civilities  and  favors, 
and  on  your  departure  will  furnish  you  with  letters  of  recom- 
mendation to  their  friends  dispersed  over  all  England;  these 
will  receive  you  equally  well  and  will  procure  you  new  acquain- 
tance. So  that  a  stranger  who  is  in  any  degree  amiable,  and 
known  to  be  a  man  of  character,  may  travel  with  infinite 
pleasure  over  all  England;  like  a  ball  that  is  sent  from  one 
player  to  another."  We  can  count  on  Archenholz  to  sing 
the  praises  of  the  English  whenever  possible;  he  does  not  fail 
them  in  this  instance,  for  among  many  similar  statements 
from  his  pen  we  read  the  following  in  his  Annalen  der  Brit- 
tischen  Geschichte:^  "The  emigres  [who  went  to  England  after 
the  French  Revolution]  gave  to  the  English  an  opportunity  to 
show  their  beneficence  and  hospitality.  These  unfortunate 
creatures  come  in  swarms  and,  almost  always,  totally  indigent. 
They  were  succored  with  praise-worthy  zeal;  on  all  sides 
subscriptions  were  started,  to  which  private  citizens  con- 
tributed fifty,  even  a  hundred  pounds  sterling.    The  old 

1  Neue  Reisen,  p.  151. 

2  Letters.    Vol.  IV,  p.  102. 

3  Vol.  IX,  p.  405. 


73 


national  hatred,  the  difference  in  religion  and  beliefs  was 
forgotten  and  only  the  misery  of  the  exiles  was  considered."  ^ 
On  this  point  Forster  gives  an  interesting  discussion,  from 
which  we  learn  that  the  English  prided  themselves  on  their 
hospitality  and  called  their  country  the  most  hospitable  in 
the  world,  but  that  foreigners,  on  the  other  hand,  held  a 
different  view,  due,  to  some  extent,  at  least,  to  a  misunder- 
standing of  the  unfamiliar  customs  in  London.  Frequently 
it  occurred  that  an  Englishman,  who  had  been  showered  with 
courtesies  when  traveling  on  the  Continent,  would  discharge 
his  obligations  to  his  foreign  host,  when  the  latter  visited 
England,  by  inviting  him  to  dinner  at  a  hotel,  allowing  the 
guest  to  pay  for  his  own  meal.^  The  Englishman's  apparently 
perverted  conception  of  hospitality  struck  Forster  at  first 
as  absurd,  but  in  the  course  of  time  he  came  to  regard  the 
matter  in  a  different  light,  due,  as  he  states,^  to  the  following 
considerations:  "In  the  first  place,  it  is  very  literally  true  of 
the  inhabitants  in  the  country,  at  least,  that  they  lavish 
hospitality  on  foreigners  who  are  recommended  to  them. 
In  the  second  place,  it  is  more  customary  in  London  than 
elsewhere  to  dine  at  a  hotel,  since  so  many  do  not  keep  their 
own  house  there,  but  go,  year  in,  year  out,  to  a  public  inn 
for  their  meals.  In  the  third  place,  many  feel  that  they  are 
allowing  their  guest  more  freedom  when  they  take  him  to  a 
table  where  he  can  order  what  he  chooses.  .  .  .  Finally,  even 
in  Lbndon  it  is  frequently  the  case  that  foreigners  are  enter- 
tained in  the  homes  of  their  acquaintances.  .  .  .  But  most 
important  of  all  .  .  .  is  the  condition  represented  by  the 
saying,  'In  England  money  will  buy  anything  you  want.* 
Beautiful  hospitality!  I  said,  when  I  heard  this  expression 
for  the  first  time,  and  a  thousand  foreigners  to  one  will  be 
tempted  to  make  the  same  exclamation.    I  am  glad  to  confess 

1  That  the  hatred  existing  between  the  English  people  and  the  French 
refugees  was  very  bitter  despite  these  instances  of  generosity,  is  brought  out 
in  letters  from  London  to  the  Merkur.  See,  for  instance,  the  issues  of  this 
periodical  for  September,  1796  (p.  90),  and  November,  1796  (p.  319). 

2  Bielfeld,  as  well  as  Forster,  writes  of  the  Englishman's  disinclination  to 
return  the  hospitality  of  foreigners.    See  his  Letters.    Vol.  IV,  p.  202. 

^Ansichten,  etc.,  p.  377,  ff. 


74 


that  I  no  longer  hold  in  such  slight  regard  this  hospitality 
which  secures  to  everyone  in  return  for  his  money  all  that  he 
can  desire  for  his  comfort  and  pleasure.  It  is  not  a  small 
matter  that  the  foreigner,  the  tourist,  the  customer  who 
wishes  to  purchase  something  in  a  store,  is  received  in  a  kind 
and  obliging  manner.  And  such  attention  is  the  general  rule 
in  England."  ^ 

A  consideration  of  the  hospitality  accorded  to  the  occa- 
sional German  tourist  in  England  brings  us  to  the  broader 
question  of  the  Englishman's  general  attitude  toward  the 
foreigner  and  toward  everything  that  had  its  origin  outside 
of  Great  Britain.  On  this  subject  there  is  available  an  em- 
barassing  wealth  of  material;  and  as  British  provincialism 
and  blindness  to  the  merits  of  other  nations  was  to  the  German 
of  the  eighteenth  century  one  of  the  most  striking  national 
traits,  this  aspect  of  the  national  character  will  be  discussed 
at  some  length.  That  the  British  people  were  more  provincial 
than  their  neighbors  on  the  Continent  is  not  open  to  doubt. 
At  a  time  when  travel  was  comparatively  uncommon  and 
the  exchange  of  ideas  was  attended  with  serious  difficulties, 
even  in  the  case  of  nations  which  were  disposed  to  familiarize 
themselves  with  the  thoughts  and  achievements  of  other 
countries,  the  insular  situation,  in  itself,  of  the  British  did 
much  to  develop  and  maintain  among  them  the  popular 
impression  that  they  had  nothing  to  learn  from  the  foreigner 
and  that  their  own  civilization  was  in  every  respect  superior 

1  From  Fontane  we  get  the  impression  that  at  one  time  foreigners  were 
cordially  received  into  English  homes,  but  that  after  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  a  great  change  had  taken  place:  "Old  England's  hospitality  is  now  no 
more  than  a  phrase,  at  best  the  exception.  It  lives  in  the  old  statutes,  but  has 
died  in  the  hearts.  The  country  is  open,  but  the  homes  are  closed.  From  time 
to  time  I  receive  letters  in  which  the  phrase  our  English  hospitable  house  occurs 
in  every  other  line;  but  the  otherwise  doubtful  assurance  of  this  hospitality  is 
always  accompanied  by  regrets  that,  for  one  reason  or  another,  it  is  impossible 
at  the  time  for  the  writer  to  entertain  his  friends.  .  .  .  The  hospitality  of  Old 
England  is  dead,  and  he  has  double  cause  to  regret  it,  who,  like  myself,  in  former 
years,  has  had  the  privilege  of  coming  to  know  in  its  fullest  bloom  this  charming 
trait  in  the  national  character  of  the  English."  {Aus  England  und  Schottland. 
Berlin,  1900.    p.  181.) 


75 


to  that  of  other  countries.^  In  this  connection  William 
Edward  Mead  writes  in  his  Grand  Tour:'^  "All  in  all,  perhaps 
the  most  striking  characteristic  of  the  ordinary  run  of  English 
travelers  was  their  insularity  and  unreadiness  to  admit  the 
excellence  of  anything  that  was  unfamiliar.  Even  in  our 
time  the  discriminating  Walter  Bagehot  has  observed  that 
there  is  nothing  that  the  average  Englishman  dreads  so  much 
as  the  pain  of  a  new  idea.  This  trait  was  far  more  marked  a 
century  and  a  half  ago  and  appeared  at  every  turn.  The 
English  carried  their  nationality  everywhere  with  them;  and 
their  habits  and  standards  were  in  sharp  contrast  with  those 
of  the  Continent.  .  .  .  He  [the  Englishman]  was  forever 
vaunting  the  superiority  of  his  native  land  and  displaying  his 
contempt  for  those  who  had  the  misfortune  to  be  born  else- 
where." 

From  almost  any  German  who  discussed  at  all  fully  the 
character  and  customs  of  the  British  we  might  obtain  testi- 
mony to  this  effect,  but  we  will  hear  from  only  a  few.  Volk- 
mann,  though  a  great  admirer  of  the  English,  clearly  recog- 
nized this  shortcoming:^  "A  general  trait  in  their  character 
is  their  national  pride,  and  thence  it  comes  that  not  only  on 
their  extensive  travels  do  they  view  with  scorn  other  nations 
and  whatever  they  encounter  abroad,  but  they  also  manifest 
contempt  toward  foreigners  who  visit  their  country."  While 
Count  Kielmansegge  enjoyed  to  the  utmost  his  season  in 
London  society,  he  did  not  fail  to  note  the  slight  recognition 
that  a  visitor  from  abroad  received  there :^  *'A  foreigner  has 
no  rank  at  all  in  England,  therefore  at  Court  and  on  other 
festive  occasions,  where  they  dance  according  to  rank,  those 

1  Hagedorn,  who  visited  England  in  1729,  recognized  this  British  failing; 
he  refers  to  it  in  the  satirical  poem  "Lob  unserer  Zeiten"  {Poetische  Werke. 
3  pts.  in  3  Vols.  Hamburg,  1769.  Pt.  Ill,  p.  159),  in  which  he  states  through- 
out precisely  the  opposite  of  what  he  means: 

"Der  Britte,  der  die  Fremden  schatzt, 
Will  einem  jeden  sich  verbinden; 
Der  stille  Franzmann  iibersetzt, 
Wir  muntern  Deutschen,  wir  erfinden." 

2  p.  124. 

'  Neueste  Reisen.    Vol.  I,  p.  31. 
*  Diary,  p.  283. 


76 


gentlemen  who  are  not  lords  and  baronets,  and  who  wish 
to  dance,  are  not  called  up  until  after  all  the  lords,  and  just 
as  the  leader  of  the  dance  pleases."  Goede  in  attributing  the 
Englishman's  lack  of  appreciation  of  other  nations  to  his 
ignorance  of  them,  is  undoubtedly  correct:^  "Among  no  other 
European  people,  perhaps,  the  French  excepted,  is  the  knowl- 
edge of  foreign  countries  so  neglected  as  among  the  English. 
They  are  heard  to  express  daily  the  strangest  opinions  of  the 
rest  of  the  world.  Especially  are  they  at  a  loss  as  to  what  they 
are  to  make  of  Germany."  Klinger  adds  his  testimony  against 
England  to  that  of  his  compatriots "The  Englishman  be- 
lieves that  nothing  is  beyond  him,  that  he  is  entitled  to  every- 
thing [ihn  kleide  alles,  er  habe  zu  allem  Recht];  he  scorns 
what  he  does  not  possess  and  what  is  beyond  his  reach."  And 
Wendeborn  in  his  voluminous  work  on  England  finds  frequent 
occasion  to  refer  to  the  provincialism  of  the  country,  as,  for 
instance,  when  he  tells  us^  that  "traveled  Englishmen  are 
very  well  acquainted  with  other  countries,  although  even 
among  them  there  are  striking  exceptions;  but  the  masses 
of  the  people,  even  the  better  educated,  usually  know  as 
little  about  the  neighboring  countries  as  about  the  interior  of 
Africa."  Elsewhere  Wendeborn  gives  the  following  account 
of  the  treatment  of  foreigners  in  London:^  "They  are  not 
only  begrudged  their  good  fortune,  if  they  have  it,  and  looked 
down  upon  with  a  jealous  national  pride,  but  the  instances 
are  frequent  enough  where  they  might  reasonably  complain  of 
oppression.  If  the  reception  of  Englishmen  in  foreign  coun- 
tries is  compared  with  that  of  foreigners  in  London,  who  really 
render  great  services  to  England,  a  just  and  unbiased  judge 
might,  out  of  genuine  pity,  shrug  his  shoulders  over  British 
freedom,  generosity  and  nobility  of  sentiment."  What  Zim- 
mermann  says  of  the  Englishman's  opinion  of  himself  and  of 
others  is  of  such  interest  that  it  deserves  to  be  quoted  at 
length:^  "The  English  themselves  confess  that  they  inherit 

1  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  283. 

2  Betrachtungen  und  Gedanken.  Sammtliche  Werke.  Stuttgart  and  Tubin- 
gen, 1842.    Vol.  XI,  p.  270. 

^  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  IV,  p.  118. 

*  ibid..  Vol.  I,  p.  244. 

6  Vom  Nationalslolze,  pp.  45-59. 


77 


from  their  ancestors  an  irrational  prejudice  against  all  nations 
under  the  sun.  An  Englishman  who  is  engaged  in  a  quarrel 
with  a  foreigner  always  begins  by  throwing  his  antagonist's 
native  land  up  to  him  by  means  of  some  abusive  nick-name. 
He  will  say,  You  are  a  French  tattler,  an  Italian  ape,  a  Dutch 
ox,  a  German  hog.  .  .  .  All  nations  of  Europe  are  despised 
by  the  sleek,  pudding-eating,  beer-drinking  Englishman.  The 
hunter  in  Yorkshire  believes  he  is  lord  of  the  whole  earth  for 
in  Yorkshire  he  is  lord  of  all  foxes."  Furthermore  in  the 
Englishman's  opinion  "the  Frenchman  is  polite,  witty,  cul- 
tured, proud,  but  at  the  same  time  a  slave  and  a  starveling, 
for  his  time,  his  purse,  his  arms  belong  not  to  him,  but  to  his 
king.  The  Italian  possesses  no  freedom,  no  ethics,  no  religion. 
The  Spaniard  is  brave,  God-fearing,  very  jealous  of  his  honor, 
but  poor  and  oppressed ;  and  although  he  boasts  that  the  sun 
never  rises  nor  sets  outside  of  Spanish  territory,  still,  he  will 
never  be  able  to  boast  justly  of  his  freedom,  science,  arts, 
manufacture,  trade  and  commerce.  The  Portuguese  is  like- 
wise a  slave,  ignorant  and  superstitious.  The  German  is  con- 
tinually involved  in  war  or  in  healing  the  wounds  of  war."  In 
short,  Zimmermann  concludes,  "all  nations  of  the  earth  are 
found  wanting  when  the  Englishman  weighs  them  in  the 
balance  with  himself." 

Of  course  the  chief  object  of  English  antipathy  was  France. 
Haller  comments^  on  how  utterly  Englishmen  despise  the 
French,  and  in  this  connection  he  expresses  the  belief  that  the 
achievements  of  the  English  would  be  much  greater,  were  it 
not  that  their  exalted  opinion  of  their  own  land  prevented 
them  from  seeing  the  merits  of  other  countries.  "No  people 
on  earth,"  according  again  to  Zimmermann ,2  "despises  and 
hates  another  people  more  than  the  English  do  the  French; 
any  foreigner,  no  matter  what  his  nationality,  who  walks  in 
London  dressed  otherwise  than  in  English  clothes,  is  always 
running  the  risk  of  getting  smeared  with  mud  on  account  of 
being  taken  for  a  Frenchman."  It  was  observed  by  many 
Germans  that  the  Englishman's  hatred  of  the  French  became 

1  Tagebiicher  seiner  Reisen,  p.  133. 

2  Vom  Nationalstolze,  p.  177. 


78 


gradually  less  intense  toward  the  end  of  the  century,  particu- 
larly after  the  Revolution.  From  Archenholz  we  have  it 
that^  "the  English  populace  have  in  general  the  greatest 
hatred  that  can  be  imagined  to  the  whole  French  nation.  Of 
late  years,  however,  this  prejudice  seems  to  be  entirely 
vanished  from  the  better  sort,  who  now  think  the  language  of 
that  finished  people  a  necessary  part  of  their  children's  educa- 
tion." And  Kiittner  likewise  notes  a  change  in  this  attitude 
"The  antipathy  which  formerly  prevailed  between  French 
and  English  underwent  a  marked  change  even  long  before  the 
Revolution;  in  the  cultured  classes  and  among  the  great  it 
was  never  very  pronounced.  .  .  .  The  Frenchman  has  a  cer- 
tain respect  for  the  English  and  the  Englishman  hates  France, 
the  country,  as  his  rival,  but  is  just  as  indifferent  toward  the 
Frenchman,  the  man,  as  toward  the  individuals  of  every  other 
country." 

While  the  above  quotations  undoubtedly  represent  the 
opinion  of  the  majority  of  the  Germans  who  came  into  con- 
tact with  the  English,  we  find  at  the  same  time  frequent 
expression  of  a  somewhat  more  favorable  view  of  the  English- 
man's attitude  toward  the  foreigner.  Lichtenberg,  who  was 
received  in  England  with  unusual  warmth,  writes  in  his  diary  :^ 
"Near  Ingatestone  we  passed  through  a  village  where  a  fair 
was  being  held,  and  when  the  postillion  stopped  before  a 
house,  our  coach  was  immediately  surrounded  by  more  than 
a  hundred  boys  who  enjoyed  themselves  at  our  expense, 
pointing  out  first  one  and  then  another  of  us  and  saying: 
look,  there  is  a  bullock.  I  hardly  know  how  to  put  it,  but  there 
is  a  sort  of  good-natured  coarseness  among  these  people, 
which  is  very  different  from  the  coarseness  of  my  native  land, 
where  the  populace,  to  be  sure,  concerns  itself  about  strangers 
less  than  in  England ;  but  when  it  once  makes  up  its  mind  to 
take  the  trouble,  there  is  no  escape."  And  in  a  letter  to 
Heyne  Lichtenberg  says  of  such  mobs:*  "I  think  a  troop  of 

^  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  154. 

2  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  Frankreich,  pp.  252-253. 

3  Bruchstiicke  aus  dem  Tagebuch  von  der  Reise  nach  England.  Vermischte 
Schriften.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  274. 

4  April  17,  1770 — Briefe,  Vol.  I,  p.  7. 


79 


malicious  [German]  students  is  much  more  dangerous  than 
ten  thousand  of  these  people;  against  the  former  no  sort  of 
strategy  is  a  protection,  while  an  English  suit  of  clothes 
and  a  little  dissimulation  renders  everyone  safe  here."  The 
opinion  of  Pollnitz  is  still  more  favorable  to  the  English  in  this 
regard:^  "I  don't  think  that  the  ministers  of  this  country  or 
the  nobility  are  so  haughty  as  they  are  represented  in  our 
country,  and  have  reason  to  think  that  they  who  say  the 
English  are  not  civil  to  foreigners,  have  not  been  very  con- 
versant with  'em.  'Tis  true,  they  are  not  so  engaging  as  the 
French,  but  when  a  man  is  known  among  them,  gives  in  to 
their  ways  and  courts  their  favor,  in  short  they  are,  methinks, 
as  courteous  and  civil  as  any  other  people  in  the  world." 
Another  partisan  of  the  English  in  this  discussion  is  Taube,^ 
who  maintained  that  refugees  from  the  Spanish  Netherlands, 
France  and  Germany  were  hospitably  received  in  England  and 
that  of  all  the  other  foreigners  who  went  to  England  one  half 
were  vagrants,  fortune-seekers  and  gamblers  who  were  un- 
desirable citizens  at  home,  and  most  of  the  remaining  half  were 
artisans,  factory  hands  and  others  whom  need  drove  from 
their  own  country  and  who,  through  ignorance  of  the  language 
and  customs,  fell  into  worse  straits  and  frequently  into  evil 
ways  in  England.  It  would  be  a  wonder,  Taube  holds,  if  such 
foreigners  were  not  held  in  contempt. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  second  visit  to  England,  after  an 
absence  of  more  than  ten  years,  Forster  wrote :^  "It  seems  to 
me  that  the  ordinary  man  has  become  somewhat  more  polite 
in  his  speech  and  that  he  is  more  tolerant  of  foreign  dress, 
foreign  customs  and  languages,  when  he  is  confronted  by  them 
in  the  public  streets.  This  improvement  is  undoubtedly  a 
consequence  of  the  general  reading  of  newspapers  in  England^ 
and  a  proof  of  the  mildness  of  the  real  character  of  the  English- 

^  Memoirs.  Vol.  Ill,  p.  286  (Here,  again,  the  translator,  Whatley,  shows 
that  he  is  no  expert  at  his  task). 

^  Abschilderung  der  engldndischen  Manufacturen,  etc.    Pt.  I,  p.  5. 
^  Ansichten,  p.  381. 

*  To  the  German  visitor  the  great  number  of  newspapers  published  and  read 
in  England  was  always  striking.  See,  for  instance,  A.  d.  B.,  Vol.  LXXI  (1787) , 
pt.  I,  p.  7;  Wendeborn's  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  pp.  114-116. 

7 


80 


man,  who,  in  the  end,  always  gives  an  ear  to  reason,  however 
loudly  his  prejudices,  his  evil  tendencies  and  his  passions  at 
times  argue  against  it."  Even  in  these  and  all  similar  state- 
ments in  defense  of  the  English,  however,  we  plainly  perceive 
a  recognition  of  their  provincialism,  their  complacency  and 
their  lack  of  appreciation  of  other  nations.  Lichtenberg,  for 
instance,  acknowledges  the  presence  of  these  traits  when  he 
repeats  the  frequent  suggestion  to  foreign  travelers  in  England 
that,  in  order  to  avoid  unpleasant  experiences,  they  should, 
in  so  far  as  possible,  impersonate  the  Britisher,  and  Pollnitz, 
when  he  states  that  foreigners  must  give  in  to  the  ways  of  the 
British  and  court  their  favor  in  order  to  make  themselves 
welcome  guests,  simply  admits  the  fact  which  he  is  attempting 
to  deny. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  BRITISH  CHARACTER 

In  attempting  to  arrive  at  the  German's  conception  of  the 
Englishman  as  a  type  we  are  confronted  with  serious  diffi- 
culties. Nearly  all  German  writers  who  visited  England,  as 
well  as  many  who  did  not,  recorded  their  impressions  of  the 
national  character.  Some  of  these  impressions  assume  the 
proportions  of  complete  portraits,  others  are  mere  outlines; 
some,  even  from  those  who  knew  the  Englishman  in  his 
own  home,  present  little  more  than  the  general  continental 
view,  while  others,  as  for  instance,  Wendeborn's,^  are  the 
outcome  of  close  personal  observation.  It  is  difficult  enough 
to  form  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  character  of  an  individual ; 
to  form  even  an  approximately  accurate  estimate  of  the  char- 
acter of  a  nation  is  a  still  more  difficult  task.  The  eighteenth 
century  German  undoubtedly  met  with  greater  difficulty  in 
his  study  of  the  British  character  than  in  that  of  any  other 
European  nationality;  for  in  Great  Britain  men  were  not  all 
made  after  one  pattern  to  the  same  extent  as  in  other  countries. 
The  political  freedom  which  they  enjoyed  led  to  the  develop- 
ment of  a  greater  variety  of  types  and  made  it  possible  for 
every  one  to  leave  off  disguise  and  dissimulation  and  to  appear 
as  he  really  was.  But  despite  these  considerations  it  is 
believed  that  a  careful  examination  of  our  sources  will  lead 
to  a  fairly  definite  conception  of  what  the  German  thought  of 
the  Englishman  as  an  individual.  In  this  part  of  our  study 
a  certain  amount  of  repetition  seems  unavoidable;  for  in  the 
institutions  and  customs  of  the  nation,  which  have  already 
been  considered,  the  character  of  the  people  is  clearly  reflected. 
It  is  hoped,  however,  that  these  repetitions  will  be  welcomed 
as  throwing  additional  light  on  German  opinion  of  England 
and  as  bringing  out  all  the  more  definitely  the  German  con- 
ception of  the  English  character. 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  pp.  234-316. 

81 


82 


We  shall  first  present  a  few  of  the  more  interesting  general 
characterizations  and  then  take  up  in  some  detail  those  traits 
which,  in  the  eyes  of  German  observers,  most  truly  typified 
the  English.  For  the  sake  of  comparison  let  us  hear  an  opinion 
of  the  sixteenth  century  from  a  certain  Hentzner,  who  made  the 
tour  of  England  in  1598  as  the  traveling  companion  of  a  young 
German  nobleman:^  "The  English  are  serious,  like  the  Ger- 
mans ;  lovers  of  shew,  liking  to  be  followed  wherever  they  go  by 
whole  troops  of  servants.  .  .  .  They  excel  in  dancing  and 
music,  for  they  are  active  and  lively,  though  of  a  thicker  make 
than  the  French.  They  cut  their  hair  close  on  the  middle 
of  the  head,  letting  it  grow  on  either  side;  they  are  good  sailors 
and  better  pirates,  cunning,  treacherous  and  thievish;  .  .  . 
hawking  is  the  general  sport  of  the  gentry;  they  are  more 
polite  in  eating  than  the  French,  devouring  less  bread,  but 
more  meat,  which  they  roast  in  perfection;  they  put  a  great 
deal  of  sugar  in  their  drink;  their  beds  are  covered  with  tap- 
estry, even  those  of  farmers.  .  .  .  They  are  powerful  in  the 
field,  successful  against  their  enemies,  impatient  of  anything 
like  slavery;  vastly  fond  of  great  noises  that  fill  the  ear,  such 
as  the  firing  of  cannon,  drums  and  the  ringing  of  bells,  so 
that  it  is  common  for  a  number  of  them  that  have  got  a 
glass  in  their  heads  to  go  up  into  some  belfry  and  ring  the 
bells  for  hours  together  for  the  sake  of  exercise.  If  they  see 
a  foreigner  very  well  made,  or  particularly  handsome,  they 
will  say,  'It  is  a  pity  he  is  not  an  Englishman.'"  From  the 
foregoing  it  is  evident  that  certain  dominant  qualities  of  the 
eighteenth  century  Englishman  were  equally  conspicuous  two 
hundred  years  earlier. 

For  his  Curieuser  Antiquarius  Berckenmeyer  claims  no 
originality,  but  confesses  in  the  preface  that  it  is  compiled  in 
part  from  accredited  writers  and  in  part  also  from  the  observa- 
tions made  by  some  friends  during  their  travels.  As  is  clear 
from  previous  references  to  this  work,  its  author  was  the 
veriest  dilettante  in  his  study  of  nationalities,  but  his  state- 
ments are  of  some  interest  in  that  they  present  certain  popular 

1  Travels  in  England  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  translated  (from  the 
Latin)  by  Horace,  late  Earl  of  Oxford.    London,  I797-    P-  63. 


83 


conceptions  current  in  Germany.  Among  his  generalizations 
are  the  following:^  In  temperament  the  Frenchman  is  jocular, 
the  German  affable,  the  Italian  grave  and  the  Englishman 
moody;  in  counsel  the  Frenchman  is  quick,  the  German  slow 
and  serious,  the  Italian  sagacious  and  the  Englishman  cour- 
ageous; in  enterprise  the  Frenchman  is  like  an  eagle,  the 
German  a  bear,  the  Italian  a  fox,  and  the  Englishman  a 
lion;  in  service  the  Frenchman  is  faithful,  the  German  easy- 
going [bequem],  the  Italian  dutiful  and  the  Englishman  servile; 
in  religion  the  Frenchman  is  zealous,  the  German  fervent,  the 
Italian  given  over  to  ceremony,  and  the  Englishman  devout. 
Three  nations  are  said  to  be  especially  addicted  to  drink  and 
feasting;  of  these  Josephus  Scaliger  composed  the  following 
epigram:  Tres  sunt  convivae:  Germanus,  Flander  et  Anglus. 
Die  guis  edat  melius,  quis  meliusve  hihat?  Non  comedis, 
Germane,  bibis:  tu  non  bibis.  Angle,  sed  comedis:  comedis, 
Flandre,  bibisque  bene? 

From  the  early  part  of  the  century  we  do  not  possess  many 
first-hand  accounts  of  what  the  Germans  thought  of  the 
English.  Haller,  to  be  sure,  left  a  fragmentary  diary  of  his 
trip  to  England  in  1727,  and  Pollnitz  recorded  rather  fully 
the  impressions  he  received  there,  presenting  his  view  of 
English  customs  and  national  characteristics  usually  with 
reference  to  those  of  the  French.  In  general,  he  concluded 
that^  Englishmen  were  much  the  same  in  their  own  country 
as  the  Frenchmen  are  outside  of  France,  that  is  to  say, 
haughty,  scornful  and  such  as  think  nothing  good  enough; 
and  in  like  manner  they  are  when  abroad  what  the  French 
are  in  their  own  country,  good-natur'd,  civil  and  affable." 
In  1 74 1  Baron  Bielfeld  pointed  out  two  impelling  forces 
which  he  held  accountable  for  everything  the  Englishman 
did:^  "The  English  have  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  ancient 

1  Neuvermehrter  Curieuser  Antiquarius,  pp.  7-10. 

2  Frequent  are  the  allusions  to  the  Englishman's  fondness  for  drink.  "Cer- 
tainly twice  as  much  port  wine  is  drunk  yearly  in  England  as  is  produced  in 
Portugal,"  says  Lichtenberg  (Allerhand.  Vermischte  Schriften.  Vol.  II,  p. 
193).  See  also  Moritz'  Reisen,  p.  117;  Biischel's  Neue  Reisen,  p.  210;  Wende- 
born's  Zustand.    Vol.  II,  p.  92. 

^Memoirs,  1729-33.    Vol.  V,  p.  244. 
*  Letters,  Vol.  IV,  p.  70. 


84 


Romans.  These  cared  for  nothing  but  bread  and  public  shows: 
and  the  EngHsh  seem  to  have  no  other  desires.  It  is  to  pro- 
cure the  necessaries  and  the  comforts  of  an  easy  life  that  they 
urge  their  industry,  that  they  pursue  with  so  much  ardour 
commerce  and  navigation,  and  that  they  nourish  a  little  fund 
of  avarice,  which  makes  them  fond  of  gaming  of  every  kind. 
Even  the  arts  and  sciences  are  here  cultivated  only  with  a 
view  to  interest.  The  second  capital  object  of  an  Englishman 
is  the  public  shews;  and  these  cannot  be  sufficiently  varied 
and  multiplied." 

After  the  middle  of  the  century  we  find  that  the  German's 
interest  in  England  led  him  to  write  exhaustively  on  all  phases 
of  English  life,  and  we  have,  consequently,  especially  from 
the  last  third  of  the  century,  a  large  number  of  character- 
sketches  which  are  more  or  less  illuminating.  These  are  im- 
portant, of  course,  not  only  as  representative  of  the  individual 
German's  conception  of  the  English  character,  but  also  as 
influential  in  moulding  public  opinion  in  Germany.  In  a 
review  of  Toze's  Present  State  of  Europe^  we  read  that  the 
insight  of  this  author  into  things  British  was  particularly 
clear  and  accurate,  as  was  established  in  part  by  the  fact  that 
Sir  Thomas  Nugent,  the  English  translator  of  the  work,  found 
it  unnecessary  to  make  any  changes  or  additions,  when  he 
came  to  the  chapters  on  Great  Britain.  In  the  opinion  of 
Toze^  the  English  are  "generous,  benevolent,  sincere,  courage- 
ous, resolute  and  bold  and  consequently  make  excellent 
soldiers;  which  they  have  sufficiently  shown  in  so  many 
wars,  both  by  sea  and  land.  They  must,  however,  be  well 
clothed  and  fed,  as  living  too  plentifully  at  home  to  bear  much 
hardship.  They  are  extremely  violent  in  their  passions,  and, 
particularly,  their  anger  borders  on  rage.  A  kind  of  savage- 
ness  frequently  prevails  in  their  manners,  manifesting  itself 
in  the  bloody  fights  and  diversions  among  them,  and  in  which 
particularly  the  commonalty  take  such  delight."  Of  especial 
interest  is  Lichtenberg's  estimate  of  the  British  character,  for 
it  bears  the  unmistakable  stamp  of  originality  and  discern- 

1  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  XIII  (1770),  pt.  II,  p.  552. 
^Present  State  of  Europe.    Vol.  II,  p.  204. 


85 


ment.  In  1774  he  came  across  the  following  statement  from 
Hume:  "The  English  of  any  people  in  the  universe  have  the 
least  of  a  national  character,  unless  this  very  singularity  may 
pass  for  such."  ^  At  that  time  he  could  not  understand  how- 
such  a  man  could  make  this  statement,  since  its  falsity  was 
undoubtedly  apparent  to  anyone  in  England.  But  the  follow- 
ing year,  after  having  spent  sixteen  weeks  among  the  English 
people,  Lichtenberg  himself  inclined  toward  Hume's  view, 
without,  however,  accepting  it  absolutely.  "  If  anything  defi- 
nite may  be  said  as  to  the  character  of  the  English,"  he  writes ,2 
''it  is  this:  that  they  are,  as  the  saying  goes,  very  high-strung. 
They  distinguish  many  things  where  others  perceive  a  single 
object  and  are  easily  carried  away  by  the  impulse  of  the 
moment.  This  explains  how  changeableness  is  a  part  of  their 
genius.  If  they  give  themselves  over  deliberately  to  a  single 
end,  they  must,  in  this  way,  accomplish  a  great  deal."  Abso- 
lutely opposed  to  Hume's  opinion  is  that  of  Goede.  He 
recognizes  the  fact  that  individuality  is  more  marked  in 
England  than  in  other  European  countries,  but,  he  maintains,^ 
"it  is  quite  as  undeniable  that  certain  prominent  features 
which,  as  the  result  of  the  public  life,  form  the  foundation  of 
every  national  character,  are  met  with  much  more  generally 
in  the  English  nation  than  among  any  other  peoples.  This 
national  peculiarity  of  the  English  is  firmly  established  in  their 
whole  being  and  is  not  a  superficial  phenomenon  of  fashion 
or  of  passing  fancy.  While  the  German  in  all  climes  adapts 
himself  to  foreign  customs  and,  with  more  complaisance  than 
independence,  assumes  externally  the  frivolity  of  the  French, 
the  cold  seriousness  of  the  English  and  the  phlegmatic  pride 
of  the  Spanish,  despite  the  fact  that  none  of  these  qualities 
are  natural  to  him,  the  Englishman,  on  the  other  hand,  shows 
an  unyielding  inflexibility  and  would  rather  give  up  the  most 
valuable  treasures  than  a  single  trace  of  his  national  char- 
acter."   Elsewhere^  Goede  mentions  as  the  three  outstanding 

^  See  Hume,  David:  Philosophical  Works.  Ed.  by  Green  and  Grose.  4 
Vols.    London,  1882.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  252. 

2  Urtheile  und  Bemerkungen.    Vermischte  Schriflen.    Vol.  II,  p.  118. 
^England.    Vol.  I,  p.  187. 
4  ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  278. 


86 


faults  of  the  Englishman  his  repelling  coldness,  his  exaggerated 
national  pride  and  an  unjust  hatred  of  foreigners.  But  of 
this  writer's  views  we  shall  hear  more  later  on. 

A  fairly  typical  character  sketch  is  the  following  from  the 
pen  of  Gottfried  Achenwall:^  "The  Englishman  has  more  in 
common  with  the  Germans  and  northern  European  peoples 
than  with  the  southern.  But  he  is  distinguished  from  all 
other  nations  in  that  he  depends  more  on  his  own  judgment 
than  on  that  of  others  and  discloses  in  his  actions  extreme 
impetuosity.  He  relies  on  his  common  sense  and  finds  his 
supreme  happiness  in  following  his  own  head.  He  seldom 
takes  the  middle  course,  and  often  carries  either  his  virtues 
or  his  vices  to  extremes.  At  times  he  is  carried  away  by  the 
violent  emotions  of  his  melancholic-choleric  temperament. 
Hence  comes  the  love  for  the  unusual,  the  fondness  for  exag- 
geration, and  the  contradiction  that  his  conduct  sometimes 
seems  to  reveal.  He  is  praised  for  his  honesty,  his  generosity, 
his  discretion,  his  lion's  heart,  his  fearlessness  of  death  and  his 
love  of  freedom.  Among  the  masses  of  the  people  we  sometimes 
find  furious  passions,  unbridled  excesses  in  sensual  pleasure, 
wildness  in  all  sorts  of  diversions,  scorn,  coldness  toward 
foreigners  and  an  inclination  to  suicide." 

In  1802  Joachim  Heinrich  Campe  made  a  tour  of  England 
and  France  in  order  to  study  the  customs  and  manners  of  the 
two  countries.  The  following  year  he  published  in  his  Neue 
Sammlung  von  Reiseheschreihungen^  an  account  of  his  travels 
which  was  welcomed  in  Germany  because  of  its  author's 
acute  powers  of  observation.  Campe  admired  the  English 
for  their  general  prosperity,  their  inventiveness,  their  untiring 
industry,  their  patriotism  and  their  enthusiasm  for  every 
good  cause,  their  vigorous,  healthy  appearance,  their  love  of 
cleanliness,  and  the  universal  culture  and  healthful  atmosphere 
of  their  life.  But  upon  reaching  Calais  he  experienced  a 
feeling  of  pleasure  "at  finding  himself  suddenly  among  refined, 

1  Staatsverfassung  der  heutigen  vornehmsten  Europdischen  Reiche.  Pt.  I,  p. 
274- 

2  See  N.  A.  d.  B..  Vol.  LXXXV  (1803),  pt.  I,  p.  266,  ff.,  for  a  full  review  of 
Reise  durch  England  und  Frankreich,  in  Briefen  an  einen  jungen  Freund  in 
Deutschland,  von  J.  H.  Campe.    Braunschweig,  1803. 


87 


polite,  agreeable,  sympathetic  people  after  having  seen  in 
England  so  many  cold,  unsympathetic,  gloomy  faces,  which 
looked  down  on  every  foreigner  with  proud  contempt."  This 
tourist  commended  the  generosity  of  the  English,  as  it  was 
evidenced  in  the  numerous  public  foundations  and  institutions 
of  charity,  and  he  noted  to  the  credit  of  England  that  the 
prevailing  means  of  acquiring  and  holding  wealth  there  was 
through  honesty  and  uprightness  in  all  one's  dealings.  Like 
the  majority  of  visitors  from  the  Continent,  however,  Campe 
complained  bitterly  of  the  exorbitant  charges  that  were  im- 
posed on  him  at  every  turn,  and  he  took  it  to  be  the  practice 
of  the  English  to  take  advantage  of  foreigners  in  this  way. 

In  their  writings  on  England  German  authors  employ  the 
terms  national  pride  and  love  of  freedom  on  almost  every  page, 
and  the  mere  frequency  with  which  these  attributes  are  men- 
tioned indicate  that  they  are  regarded  as  the  most  striking 
features  of  the  English  character.  Special  themes  of  never- 
failing  interest  are  the  political  liberty  and  the  resulting 
democracy  of  the  people,  and  here  we  find  almost  no  difference 
of  opinion,  so  general  is  the  admiration  for  these  features  of 
the  national  life.  Occasional  references  are  made  to  certain 
dangers  of  democracy  which  are  realized  in  England,  such  as 
a  lack  of  due  respect  for  constituted  authority,  but  such 
shortcomings  are  considered  insignificant  when  balanced 
against  the  advantages  derived  from  the  same  source.  Even 
the  foreign  visitor  enjoys  the  privileges  of  English  freedom, 
as  is  illustrated  by  the  following  lines  from  Kotzebue's  Indianer 
in  England:'^ 

Kaberdar:  Perhaps  you  take  me  or  my  daughter  or  my  old 
friend  Mussapery  for  contraband  goods? 

Tidewaiter:  Good  now,  most  venerable  Sir,  if  you  would  not  in 
all  haste  take  it  ill  of  me,  I  would  say  that  it  is  almost  the  case: 
for  we  know  not  exactly  who  you  are?  What  you  are?  Whence 
you  are?  Why  you  are?  in  short,  you  possess  in  a  great  degree 
all  the  qualities  of  a  contraband  commodity. 

Kaberdar:  Had  I  gone  to  Spain,  I  should  have  taken  this  speech, 
but  in  England  I  know  my  rights. — Pack  off  to  the  door! 

1  Act  I,  scene  lo.  These  and  all  other  quotations  from  the  play  are  in  the 
words  of  A.  Thomson's  translation,  The  East  Indian.    London,  1799. 


88 


Their  freedom  was  usually  pointed  to  as  the  chief  advantage 
the  English  people  enjoyed,  and  this  advantage,  it  was  held, 
was  the  cause  of  England's  superiority  in  many  respects  over 
other  nations.  Archenholz  attached  such  importance  to  this 
freedom  that  he  regarded  it  as  the  sole  source  of  the  great 
difference  between  England  and  the  other  countries  of  Europe.^ 
This  view  is  supported  by  Goede:^  "Midst  the  great  storms 
which  have  devastated  Europe  the  English  nation  has  steadily 
maintained  a  state  of  prosperity  unequaled  by  any  other 
people.  .  .  .  The  greatness,  the  glory  and  the  happiness  of 
this  people  is  based  on  its  freedom.  This  fact  is  attested  by 
all  the  phenomena  of  its  public  and  private  life.  Such  a 
brilliant  example  of  what  freedom  can  accomplish  is  at  the 
present  time  as  instructive  as  it  is  heart-stirring." 

For  the  consensus  of  intelligent  opinion  among  Germans 
who  had  no  opportunity  of  knowing  the  English  people  in 
their  own  home  we  may  again  refer  to  Toze:^  ''Their  liberty 
shows  itself  not  only  in  their  behaviour,  but  likewise  in  their 
way  of  thinking,  which  shakes  off  prejudices  and  exerts  itself 
to  the  great  improvement  of  their  understandings,  in  which 
they  generally  surpass  the  bulk  of  other  people.  Another  good 
consequence  of  their  liberty  is  that  the  great  pay  no  servile 
homage  to  the  court,  nor  the  commonalty  to  their  superiors; 
who  likewise  are  not  so  haughty  and  impervious  as  in  other 
countries;  so  that  the  difference  between  the  high  and  low 
is  not  so  conspicuous  in  England.  Their  love  of  freedom  and 
the  affluence  in  which  they  live  likewise  produce  in  them  a 
warm  love  for  their  country:  but,  on  the  other  hand,  this 
very  freedom  and  affluence  is  apt  to  fill  them  with  pride,  self- 
conceit  and  contempt  for  other  nations."  Moritz  was  deeply 
stirred  by  a  contemplation  of  the  effects  of  British  democracy:^ 
"When  we  see  here  how  the  commonest  street- vender  takes 
an  interest  in  what  is  going  on,  how  even  the  smallest  children 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  nation,  in  short,  how  everyone 
shows  his  consciousness  of  being  a  man  and  an  Englishman, 

^  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  ii6. 

2  England,  etc.    Preface,  p.  xii. 

^Present  State  of  Europe.    Vol.  II,  pp.  201-202. 

4  Reisen  .  .  .  in  England,  p.  38. 


89 


just  as  his  king  and  his  minister,  our  feeHngs  are  very  different 
from  those  we  experience  when  we  see  soldiers  drilHng  in 
Berhn."  And  still  greater  is  the  enthusiasm  of  Zimmermann:^ 
"The  English  owe  the  greater  degree  of  liberty  they  enjoy 
above  other  nations  to  the  superiority  of  their  knowledge. 
Animated  by  a  spirit  of  freedom,  of  which  no  adequate  idea 
can  be  formed,  even  in  most  republics,  they  fasten  upon  the 
sciences  as  a  tiger  on  its  prey;  they  meditate  on  the  great 
interests  of  nations  and  of  mankind  with  the  most  daring 
expansion  of  thought:  they  are  ever  taken  up  with  great 
objects  and  ever  doing  great  things.  Ignorance  and  error 
shrink  from  the  penetrating  vision  of  their  genius;  arbitrary 
power  trembles  before  their  vigorous  investigation  of  its 
principles,  while  the  authority  of  the  law  alone  stands  im- 
movable and  sacred.  The  greatest  part  of  such  nations  as 
are  free  think  and  act  but  by  halves;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  English  soar  with  a  steady  flight  to  the  skies,  because  their 
wings  are  not  clipped,  neither  are  they  called  back  by  the 
lure  of  the  falconer."  ^ 

In  England  more  than  in  any  other  European  country  the 
individual  stood  alone;  his  position  was  determined  largely 
by  his  own  merits  and  was  by  no  means  so  dependent  on  the 
accident  of  birth  as  it  was  elsewhere.  As  we  shall  see,  pride 
appeared  to  the  Germans  to  be  one  of  the  most  apparent 
traits  in  the  British  character;  but  pride  of  family  and  of 
position  was  less  general  in  England  than  in  Germany,  and 

1  Vom  Nationalstolze,  p.  266.    Wilcocke's  translation  (p.  218)  is  quoted  here. 

2  A  comparison  with  the  original  discloses  the  fact  that  the  translator  added 
some  peculiar  flourishes  to  the  already  glowing  tribute  of  Zimmermann,  as, 
for  instance,  the  tiger  seizing  its  prey,  the  meditating  with  expansion  of  thought, 
the  lure  of  the  falconer: 

"Die  Englander  sind  nur  darum  freier  als  andere  Nationen,  weil  sie  auf- 
geklarter  sind.  Mit  diesem  Geiste  der  Freiheit,  wovon  man  in  den  meisten 
Republiken  nur  nicht  einmal  einen  Begriff  hat,  werfen  sich  die  Englander 
auf  die  Wissenschaften,  denken  iiber  die  Angelegenheiten  der  Volker,  sind 
immer  mit  grossen  Gegenstanden  beschaftigt  und  thun  immer  grosse  Sachen. 
Vor  dem  Uebermass  ihrer  Einsichten  siehet  man  die  Unwissenheit  ver- 
schwinden,  die  von  guten  Griinden  entblosste  Gewalt  erzittern,  und  die  einzige 
Kraft  der  Gesetze  unbeweglich  stehen.  Die  meisten  freien  Nationen  denken 
nur  halb;  da  hingegen  die  Englander  sich  bis  zum  Himmel  geschwungen  weil 
man  ihnen  die  Fliigel  nicht  abhaut." 


90 


this  fact  is  frequently  mentioned  by  German  writers.  Zim- 
mermann,  for  instance,  whose  impressions  of  the  British  were 
formed  chiefly  in  court  circles,  where  democracy  was  put  to 
the  severest  test,  expresses  the  following  view:^  In  no  [other] 
country  is  the  individual  so  far  dissociated  from  his  birth, 
his  rank  and  everything  that  is  peculiar  to  him;  in  Germany 
the  question  is  asked  concerning  a  stranger,  does  he  belong 
to  the  nobility;  in  Holland,  has  he  money;  but  in  England, 
what  manner  of  man  is  he?"  Kotzebue,  likewise,  recognizes 
the  Englishman's  comparative  indifference  toward  pedigree  in 
his  Indianer  in  England:'^ 

"Samuel:  As  for  family,  gracious  Mamma,  you  know  well  that 
here  in  England  we  are  not  accustomed  to  think  it  of  much  im- 
portance. 

Lady  Smith:  Alas  no! — The  carter  and  the  lord  enjoy  here  the 
very  same  rights." 

Many  individual  instances  of  the  feeling  of  equality  existing 
among  the  English  people  are  recorded  by  German  tourists. 
Sophie  de  la  Roche  in  her  Tagebuch  einer  Reise  durch  Holland 
und  England^  relates  the  following  incident:  At  the  Covent 
Garden  Theater  a  man  in  one  of  the  most  remote  corners  of 
the  gallery  in  the  middle  of  the  performance  shouted  suddenly 
to  an  actor  to  stop.  The  actor  obeyed,  and  there  was  a  pause 
until  another  spectator,  to  whose  presence  the  first  objected, 
could  be  removed.  Finally,  the  self-assertive  Englishman 
arose  again  and  shouted:  Go  on!,  whereupon  the  actors  re- 
sumed their  parts.  Not  the  slightest  trace  of  impatience  was 
shown  by  the  king  or  any  other  important  personages  present, 
but  all  patiently  awaited  the  conclusion  of  the  interruption. 
In  the  opinion  of  a  German  reviewer  of  the  above  mentioned 
work,^  such  an  incident  affords  a  more  accurate  commentary 
on  the  spirit  of  a  nation  than  whole  volumes  of  learned  dis- 
cussions. Of  similar  import  is  the  following  observation  of 
Kiittner:'^  ''At  the  horse  races  at  Maidenhead  I  happened  to 

^  ibid.,  p.  264. 

2  Act  I,  scene  i. 

3  (Offenbach,  1788.)  See  A.  d.  B.  Vol.  LXXXXV  (1790),  pt.  I,  p.  265  fx. 
^  ibid.,  p.  269. 

^  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  England.  N.  A.  d.  B.,  Vol.  II  (i793)f 
pt.  2,  p.  611. 


91 


find  myself  standing  in  the  same  booth  with  the  Prince  of 
Wales  and  the  Duke  of  York.  They  were  not  better  dressed 
than  I,  and  they  awakened  in  me  new  reflections  on  the 
difference  which  prevails  between  a  prince  of  this  country 
and  a  small  German  prince.  Here  he  mingles  with  other 
people  in  everyday  life  and  is  distinguished  from  the  rest 
only  by  his  superior  courtesy." 

The  Englishman's  independence  and  self-reliance  were  re- 
garded as  admirable  products  of  the  personal  liberty  he  en- 
joved.  "A  rich  Englishman,"  writes  Archenholz/  "and  in 
general  every  inhabitant  of  that  fortunate  island,  knows  no 
other  restraint  on  his  conduct  than  the  laws  and  his  own 
inclination.  If  he  does  not  infringe  on  the  jurisprudence  of 
his  country,  he  is  entirely  master  of  his  own  actions.  From 
thence  proceed  those  numerous  follies  and  those  extravagances 
at  which  the  nations  among  whom  they  are  unknown  seem 
so  much  shocked,  for  want  of  being  able  to  investigate  the 
cause,  which  would  make  them  rather  astonished  that  they 
are  not  more  numerous.  The  opinion  of  the  world,  so  formid- 
able in  other  countries,  is  there  disregarded.  Nobody  con- 
sults anything  but  his  own  judgment;  and  they  all  despise 
the  sentiments  of  those  from  whom  they  have  nothing  either 
to  hope  or  to  fear."  These  traits  in  the  British  national 
character  are  the  subject  of  a  strong  eulogy  in  the  Neues 
Gottingisches  Historisches  Magazin  of  the  year  1792:^  "The 
English  have  in  general,  despite  the  utmost  refinement  of  life 
and  the  most  exaggerated  luxury,  remained  much  closer  to 
nature  and  much  simpler  in  their  manner  of  living  than  other 
peoples.  They  are  more  truly  human  beings  than  other 
cultivated  nations.  Each  one  is  independent  of  every  one 
else,  and  can  be  so  without  the  slightest  offence  to  his  neighbor. 
The  spirit  of  imitation  is  nowhere  less  in  evidence  than 
here.  The  commonest  phrase,  even  from  the  lips  of  children, 
is:  Can't  I  judge  for  myself?  Their  language  is  richer  than  any 
other  in  words  that  express  self-analysis  and  voluntary  action ; 

1  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  3. 

23  Vols.  Hanover,  1792-94.  Vol.  I,  pt.  i,  p.  194  (Letter  from  London. 
March  12,  1791). 


92 


and  these  words  are  current  even  among  the  lowest  classes." 
In  the  general  praise  of  freedom  Wendeborn  joins  unreservedly. 
Unlike  Archenholz,  however,  he  does  not  see  in  public  opinion 
a  potential  hindrance  to  personal  liberty  and  something,  there- 
fore, which  is  properly  disregarded,  but  an  impartial  court  in 
which  all  questions  relating  to  the  interests  of  the  citizens  are 
decided:^  ''Here,  heaven  be  praised,  not  only  thoughts,  but 
likewise  tongue,  pen  and  press  are  free.  An  Englishman  has, 
consequently,  no  reason  for  being  a  hypocrite.  He  thinks, 
he  speaks,  just  as  he  sees  fit.  .  .  .  The  entire  public  here  is 
the  great  tribunal  before  which  everything  is  brought  for 
judgment.  Every  one  is  heard,  every  one  is  permitted  to 
defend  himself.  If  there  were  among  all  peoples  such  heralds, 
whose  loud  voices  were  capable  of  awakening  shame  and  fear : 
if  the  common  man  were  everywhere  so  eager  to  read  the 
newspapers  as  here,  insubordination,  oppression  and  super- 
stition would  soon  be  banished  by  the  majority  of  votes  from 
many  regions,  and  peoples  who  could  read  and  who  had  the 
privilege  of  writing  would  soon  cease  to  be  slaves." 

A  still  further  national  asset  arising  from  the  general  partici- 
pation of  the  people  in  all  affairs  of  the  state  is  the  public 
spirit,  which  Archenholz  describes^  as  "one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguishing characteristics  of  the  English,  ...  a  virtue  un- 
known in  any  other  country,  and  which  no  other  language 
than  theirs  is  able  to  express.  This  passion  consists  in  the 
active  zeal  of  every  individual  to  cooperate  towards  the  general 
good ;  the  very  lowest  of  the  people  possess  it  in  a  very  extra- 
ordinary degree." 

As  for  the  Englishman's  love  of  country,  we  have  already 
found  it  attested  by  Toze  and  other  German  authorities. 
No  foreigner  could  have  failed  to  observe  the  presence  of  this 
trait  in  the  English  character,  but  what  the  Englishman  would 
have  termed  patriotism  in  his  own  make-up  usually  passed  in 
the  eyes  of  foreigners  for  national  pride,  and  it  is  perhaps 
literally  true  that  no  other  quality  is  so  frequently  mentioned 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  273. 

2  Picture  of  England.  Vol.  I,  p.  185— Also,  A.  d.  B.,  Vol.  LXXI  (1787).  pt.  i, 
pp.  11-12,  and  Annalen  der  br.  Geschichte.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  202. 


93 


in  describing  the  British  as  this  same  Nationalstolz.  Moritz, 
however,  sees  that  the  EngHsh,  besides  this  quaUty,  also 
possess  a  commendable  sort  of  patriotism:^  "Here  everybody, 
even  to  the  lowHest,  carries  on  his  Hps  the  name  native  land, 
a  term  used  in  Germany  only  by  poets.  For  my  country  Fll 
shed  every  drop  of  my  blood!  says  little  Jacky  in  our  house,  a 
boy  who  is  scarcely  twelve  years  old.  Love  of  country  and 
military  bravery  are  the  burden  of  the  ballads  and  folk-songs 
which  are  sung  by  women  in  the  streets  and  sold  for  a  few 
pennies."  But  the  genuineness  of  this  patriotism  is  ques- 
tioned by  Wendeborn:^  "People  who  have  a  natural  love  of 
freedom  and  who  will  endure  anything  else  rather  than  fetters 
.  .  .  always  oppose  every  force  that  might  restrict  their 
rights  as  human  beings.  Of  such  people,  who  are  patriots 
from  principle  and  from  natural  inclination,  there  are  many 
in  England,  but  they  are  a  small  number  in  comparison  with 
the  nation  as  a  whole.  There  are  also  a  great  many  who  seek 
only  their  own  advancement,  using  their  feigned  patriotism 
as  a  mask  for  their  ambition." 

Contact  with  the  English  did  much  to  impress  the  Germans 
with  a  realization  of  their  own  comparative  lack  of  patriotism. 
In  the  two  words  patriam  fugimus  Lichtenberg  sums  up  the 
character  of  the  German  people,^  and  Zimmermann  writes  of 
them  as  follows:^  "Single  instances  of  a  most  absurd  pride  are 
evident  enough  at  the  German  universities,  in  the  German 
imperial  cities,  among  the  German  nobility  and  in  all  phases 
of  German  life  [bei  allem  was  in  Deutschland  Herr  und  Hund 
ist].  But  instances  of  foolish  national  pride  are  on  the  whole 
uncommonly  rare  among  a  people  which  scorns  the  works 
of  its  artists,  receives  the  efforts  of  its  poets  with  ridicule  and 
praises  above  everything  else  exotic  products  and  foreign 
scholarship."  Especially  in  the  latter  part  of  the  century  do 
we  find  a  considerable  amount  of  propaganda  from  German 
men  of  letters  with  a  view  to  developing  greater  love  of  coun- 

^  Reisen  .  .  .  in  England,  p.  39. 

2  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  74. 

3  Urtheile  und  Bemerkungen.    Vermischte  Schriften.    Vol.  II,  p.  119. 
*  Vom  Nationalstolze.    p.  8. 


94 


try.  In  the  Deutsches  Museum  for  May,  1776/  appears  an 
essay,  Ueber  den  Vaterlandsstolz  which,  we  may  safely  assume, 
was  inspired  largely  by  its  author's  veneration  for  England. 
Here  we  read  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  German  public:  *'You 
are  a  German!  Then,  be  proud  of  your  Herman,  of  your 
hero  Frederick,  of  Katharine,  the  benefactress  of  mankind! 
Hand  down  to  posterity  the  names  of  Leibnitz,  Klopstock,  and 
Lessing!  Name  Germany's  inventors,  when  England  buries 
her  actors  beside  kings  and  France  places  her  interior  decorators 
among  the  Forty!  We  are  lacking  in  historians  and  orators, 
it  is  true,  but  not  in  poets  and  deeds.  Still,  let  us  be  just  and 
not  forget  that  only  thirty  years  ago  Gottsched  was  still  the 
German  Addison,  that  even  yet  humor,  wit  and  grace  thrive 
only  with  difficulty  on  German  soil  and  that  fatherland  and 
freedom  in  our  language  are  little  more  than  meaningless 
sounds." 

In  the  imaginative  literature  we  find  additional  proof  that 
pride  was  regarded  as  a  ruling  passion  of  the  British.  Two 
English  characters  in  the  plays  of  Christian  Felix  Weisse 
confess  themselves  to  be  its  victims;  in  Amalia  Freeman 
mentions  his  pride  as  one  of  the  causes  of  his  downfall,^ 
and  in  Die  Freundschaft  auf  der  Probe^  Nelson  is  made  to 
exclaim:  "How  my  proud  heart  has  deceived  me!"  From 
Schiller  we  hear  much  of  this  English  characteristic.  In 
Kahale  und  Liebe  Ferdinand  says  to  Lady  Milford:"^  ''Gird 
thyself  with  all  the  pride  of  thy  native  Britain — I,  a  German 
youth,  will  spurn  thee!"  and  again, ^  ''You  call  yourself  an 
Englishwoman — pardon  me,  lady,  I  can  hardly  believe  you. — 
The  freeborn  daughter  of  the  freest  people  under  heaven — a 
people  too  proud  to  imitate  even  foreign  virtues — would  surely 
never  have  sold  herself  to  foreign  vicesl — It  is  not  possible, 
lady,  that  you  should  be  a  native  of  Britain,  unless  indeed 
your  heart  be  as  much  below  as  the  sons  of  Britannia  vaunt 

1  Vol.  I,  pt.  5,  pp.  408-409. 

2  Act  I,  scene  4. 

3  Act  I,  scene  5. 

*  Act  I,  scene  7.    Translation  here  and  elsewhere  from  Schiller's  Works, 
ed.  by  J.  G.  Fischer.    4  Vols.    Philadelphia,  no  date.    Vol.  I,  pp.  312-67. 
^  Act  II,  scene  3. 


95 


theirs  to  be  above  all  others!"  In  the  final  words  of  Mary- 
Stuart  to  her  servants^  there  is  likewise  an  allusion  to  English 
pride : 

Und  ist  euch  meine  letzte  Bitte  werth, 
Bleibt  nicht  in  England,  dass  der  Britte  nicht 
Sein  stolzes  Herz  an  eurem  Ungliick  weide. 

and  again  in  Schiller's  Jungfrau  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  chafes 
against  the  pride  of  his  temporary  ally '} 

Fern  ist  mein  Sinn  vom  Frieden  mit  dem  Dauphin, 
Doch  die  Verachtung  und  den  Uebermuth 
Des  stolzen  Englands  kann  ich  nicht  ertragen. 

Both  Archenholz  and  Goede  recognized  the  intensity  of  the 
Englishman's  national  pride,  but  they  were  both  inclined  to 
condone  it  as  a  legitimate  and  natural  feeling.  "This  pride," 
writes  Archenholz,^  ''is  carried  among  them  to  a  great  length. 
Indeed,  how  is  it  possible  to  know  and  feel  all  the  merit  of 
such  a  system  of  liberty  without  attaching  an  uncommon 
value  to  it?  This  same  sentiment  with  which  we  so  violently 
reproach  the  English  of  the  present  times  has  always  been 
felt  by  the  most  enlightened  nations  of  the  world.  .  .  .  This 
fault,  if  it  is  one,  is  still  more  common  amongst  the  Spanish 
than  them  [the  English];  but  being  founded  on  no  solid 
grounds,  it  has  become  very  justly  a  subject  of  ridicule.  The 
English  themselves  are  hated  on  this  account,  although  their 
very  enemies,  at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts,  pay  tribute  to 
their  extraordinary  merit."  Similarly  Goede :^  "Even  if 
national  pride  is  a  fault,  it  seems  almost  unavoidable  in  the 
case  of  a  people  which,  as  the  English,  has  attained  to  a 
dazzling  height  of  power  and  culture  and  which  lives  cut  off 
by  its  insular  position  from  other  nations." 

The  comparison  drawn  by  Wendeborn  between  the  pride 
of  an  Englishman  and  that  of  a  German  is  of  such  interest 
that  it  is  quoted  at  length:^  "Lbve  of  country  is  common  to 

1  Act  V,  scene  6. 

2  Act  II,  scene  2. 

3  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  pp.  49-50. 
*  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  280. 

^  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  pp.  251-53. 
8 


96 


almost  all  peoples;  among  Europeans  the  English  possess  it 
perhaps  in  the  highest  and  the  Germans  in  the  lowest  degree. 
.  .  .  But  in  vindication  of  the  Englishman  I  must  say  that 
he  esteems  his  person  not  so  much  on  its  own  account  as  on 
account  of  his  British  birth.  It  is  just  the  reverse  with  other 
peoples,  especially  with  my  fellow-countrymen,  who  usually 
think  highly  of  themselves  and  their  ego  and  air  their  personal 
pride,  but  concern  themselves  little  about  the  glory  which 
their  native  country  might  give  them.  A  cultured  English- 
man speaks  of  his  person,  of  his  dignity  and  rank  with  modesty, 
of  his  native  country  with  eulogy  and  a  sort  of  enthusiasm : 
on  the  other  hand  a  so-called  fine  gentleman  in  Germany  is  in 
love  with  his  position  and  his  title  and  seems  only  to  be 
ashamed  when  he  has  to  say  he  is  a  German.  If  my  fellow- 
countrymen  might  only  become  better  patriots!" 

That  self-conceit  was  a  general  failing  of  the  British  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  eighteenth 
century  Germans.  To  the  testimony  of  Wendeborn  we  may 
add  that  of  Zimmermann:^  "  Englishmen  are  not  vain,  for  they 
concern  themselves  but  little  about  the  opinion  of  others; 
even  if  honor  is  to  them  a  motive  of  action,  still,  they  are  not 
governed  in  their  actions  by  the  judgment  of  others;  enough 
if  they  are  honorable  in  their  own  eyes,  or  at  most  in  the  eyes 
of  their  fellow-citizens."  Nor  does  Archenholz  show  a  con- 
ceited people  when  he  writes:^  "John  Bull  is  a  favorite  subject 
for  the  satire  of  dramatic  writers.  The  people  are  never 
more  happy  than  when  they  see  their  own  follies  personified 
in  this  character ;  they  are  then  sure  to  receive  every  sarcasm 
with  the  loudest  applause."  ^ 

1  Vom  Nationalstolze,  p.  216. 
Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  158. 

3  In  the  nineteenth  century  a  change  of  opinion  on  this  point  is  to  be  noted . 
In  1823  von  Weech  wrote:  "A  peculiarity  of  the  Englishman,  which  is  anything 
but  creditable  to  him,  is  the  over-estimation  of  his  own  worth  and  the  low, 
often  absurd  opinion  which  he  holds  of  everything  that  does  not  come  from  his 
own  country."  (Reise  iiber  England  .  .  .  1823-27.  3  Vols,  in  2.  Miinchen, 
1 83 1.  Vol.  I,  p.  79.)  And  Fontane  writes  with  still  more  conviction  of  the 
Englishman's  conceit:  "The  German  lives  in  order  to  live,  the  Englishman  lives 
in  order  to  represent.  In  Germany  he  lives  happily  who  lives  comfortably,  in 
England,  he  who  is  envied.    The  German  lives  for  his  own  sake,  the  Englishman 


97 


The  Britisher's  pride  was  doubtless  the  main  cause  of  his 
appearing,  at  least  to  a  casual  foreign  observer,  to  be  of  a  very 
unsociable  nature. — "Every  Englishman  is  an  island,"  writes 
Novalis.^ — It  seemed  difficult  to  find  the  way  to  his  heart; 
but  once  this  difficulty  was  overcome,  he  proved  to  be  a  friend 
in  whom  no  amount  of  confidence  was  misplaced.  As  Mead 
puts  it,2  "getting  on  easily  with  people  that  one  chances  to 
meet  is  an  art  that  the  French  have  carried  to  perfection. 
The  Englishman  of  the  eighteenth  century  commonly  lacked 
the  flexibility  and  the  self-forgetfulness  necessary  for  such 
casual  intercourse,  particularly  if  he  had  to  use  a  language  not 
his  own  and  thus  run  the  risk  of  making  himself  ridiculous." 
To  Kiittner,  one  of  his  warmest  German  admirers,  the  English- 
man appeared  to  be  totally  devoid  of  sociability;  especially 
striking  to  him  were  the  customs  at  the  English  inns.^  No- 
where did  he  find  tables  d'hote;  guests  seldom  addressed  one 
another  and  usually  did  not  even  so  much  as  give  each  other 
a  nod  of  recognition.  Their  first  question  upon  entering  an 
inn  was,  Can  I  have  a  room  to  myself?  In  short,  they  seemed 
to  avoid  carefully  all  intercourse  with  others  and  to  entertain 
suspicions  of  all  whom  they  met,  or  who  attempted  to  converse 
with  them. 

Georg  Forster  had  occasion  to  complain  of  the  Englishman's 
coldness  and  indifference.  In  a  letter  to  Heyne,  his  father-in- 
law,  he  writes:^  "  But  the  English  are  too  reserved,  too  suspici- 
ous, too  indifferent  toward  foreigners,  or  at  least  toward 
foreign  endeavors,  to  be  induced,  in  the  brief  period  of  my 
sojourn,  to  do  anything  for  the  promotion  of  my  literary 
undertakings.  So  I  must  content  myself  with  the  very  little 
I  can  snatch  here  and  there,  ut  canis  e  Nilo,  and  which  is  little 

— in  the  selfish  sense  of  the  word,  of  course — for  the  sake  of  others.  He  has  no 
desire  to  give  them  anything,  but  he  craves  praise,  honor  and  admiration  (Ein 
Sommer  in  London.    Aus  England  und  Schottland.    Berlin,  1900.    p.  209). 

1  Schriften.    Ed.  by  Ernst  Heilborn.    2  parts  in  3  Vols.    Berlin,  1901. 
Pt.  2,  first  half.    Fragmente  (1799),  p.  199. 
Grand  Tour.    p.  128. 

3  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  England,  etc.  A.  d.  B.,  Vol.  CX  (1792),  pt. 
I,  p.  214. 

*  May  24,  1790.  J.  G.  Forster' s  Briefwechsel,  herausgegeben  von  Th.  Z. 
geb.  Z.    2  pts.    Leipzig,  1829.    Pt.  II,  p.  6. 


98 


enough."  Two  months  later  Forster  was  still  more  dis- 
couraged ''From  the  sojourn  in  England  I  have  derived 
less  benefit  than  I  had  hoped,  because  I  encountered  every- 
where too  much  reserve  and  coldness;  and  after  a  residence  of 
twelve  years  in  Germany  I  had  become  unaccustomed  to  this 
fatal  trait  in  the  British  character.  The  only  men  who  have 
received  me  kindly  in  England  are  Mr.  Paradise,  of  London, 
and  Dr.  Silbthorpe,  of  Oxford." 

This  side  of  the  Englishman  is  fully  discussed  by  Goede,^ 
who,  on  the  whole,  is  less  inclined  than  the  majority  of  his 
fellow-countrymen  to  consider  the  English  cold  and  unim- 
pressionable; yet  he  is  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  they  do 
not  possess  all  the  social  qualifications  of  the  French:  "Loud 
and  almost  universal  are  foreigners*  complaints  of  a  lack  of 
sociability  among  the  English.  Certain  it  is  that  the  foreigner 
always  finds  it  difficult  to  form  acquaintances  among  them, 
that  the  social  life  of  the  English  is  on  the  whole  more  restricted 
than  that  of  other  nations  and  that  in  no  [other]  country  in 
the  world  do  so  many  voluntarily  live  a  life  of  seclusion  as  in 
England.  How  sharp  is  the  contrast  here  between  them  and 
their  neighbors,  the  French!  The  latter  seem  to  live  only 
for  society."  But  certain  similar  charges  meet  with  this 
writer's  emphatic  denial:  "The  English  are  frequently  accused, 
especially  by  the  French,  of  being  cold  and  unsympathetic. 
Coldness  is  always  a  result  of  unadulterated  egotism  which, 
in  its  shriveled  nature,  prevents  the  admission  of  every  liberal 
sensation.  ...  It  is  inconceivable  how  such  an  accusation 
could  apply  to  the  English.  Their  daily  works  testify  against 
it.  Among  what  people  is  there  stronger  evidence  of  patriot- 
ism and  public  spirit?  Where  have  the  customs  remained 
purer  and  simpler?  What  nation  has  in  modern  times  looked 
after  the  alleviation  of  misery  in  all  forms  with  such  far- 
reaching  generosity?"  And  so  Goede  concludes  that  the 
colder  the  exterior  of  the  Englishman  appears,  the  greater  is 
his  inward  warmth.^ 

^  Letter  to  Heyne,  July  13,  1790,  ibid.,  p.  11. 

2  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  pp.  279-87. 

3  An  early  nineteenth  century  tourist  was  inclined  to  attribute  the  English- 
man's indifference  toward  strangers  in  part  to  his  strong  attachment  to  those 


99 


A  profound  admiration  for  British  magnanimity,  generosity 
and  charity  was  evinced  by  numerous  eighteenth  century 
Germans.  The  presence  of  these  traits  in  the  British  char- 
acter was  always  recognized,  and  it  was  generally  agreed  that 
such  virtues  were  cultivated  to  a  higher  degree  in  England 
than  in  any  other  country.  This  is  stated  by  Biischel  as  an 
uncontested  fact:^  "Magnanimity  and  charity  are  pre- 
eminently English  virtues.  Of  them  no  other  country  will 
be  able  to  present  such  glorious  monuments  as  England. 
Poverty  and  destitution  have  a  sacred  claim  on  the  generosity 
of  a  rich  man;  he  will  never  send  away  the  helpless  uncom- 
forted.  From  youth  up  he  has  seen  fulfilled  in  the  most 
effective  manner  the  duties  of  philanthropy;  its  doctrines  are 
urgently  commended  to  him,  and  he  never  loses  sight  of  them." 

Magnanimity  is  the  outstanding  quality  of  the  most  dis- 
tinctively English  character  presented  by  Lessing.  Sir  Wil- 
liam, the  father  of  Sara  Sampson,  is  ready  from  the  beginning 
to  forgive  both  his  wayward  daughter  and  Mellefont,  her 
seducer.  Of  the  former  he  says:^  "It  was  the  mistake  of  a 
tender  girl,  and  her  flight  was  the  consequence  of  her  penitence. 
Such  transgressions  are  better  than  forced  virtues — Yet  I 
feel  it,  Waitwell,  I  feel  it,  even  if  these  transgressions  were  real 
oftences,  even  if  they  were  the  most  reprehensible  crimes;  ah! 
I  would  still  forgive  her!"  And  even  after  his  daughter  has 
perished  at  the  hands  of  Mellefont's  former  mistress.  Sir 
William  likewise  pardons  the  man  who  has  deprived  him  of 
all  that  he  cherished  on  earth,  declaring^  that  Mellefont  was 
"more  unfortunate  than  vicious."  A  further  indication  of 
Sir  William's  generosity  is  his  treatment  of  Waitwell,  his 
faithful  old  servant,  to  whom  he  says:"^  "From  now  on,  my 

who  made  up  his  own  circle:  "Another  cause  of  the  lack  of  sociability  toward 
foreigners  is  perhaps  the  great  sociability  of  the  English  among  themselves. 
And  as  there  is  never  any  lack  of  variety,  especially  in  boundless  London,  they 
have  little  desire  of  acquaintances  among  foreigners,  unless  the  latter  are 
personages  of  eminent  reputation  or  distinguished  talents."  (Von  Weech's 
Reise  iiber  England  .  .  .  1823-27.  3  Vols,  in  2.  Munchen,  1831.  Vol.  I, 
p.  74-) 

1  Neue  Reisen,  etc.    p.  218. 

2  Act  I,  scene  i. 

'  Act  V,  last  scene. 
^  Act  III,  scene  3. 


100 


good  Waitwell,  you  are  no  longer  to  consider  yourself  my 
servant.  You  have  long  since  earned  in  my  service  the  right 
to  enjoy  a  decent  old  age,  and  I  will  assure  it  to  you.  I  will 
remove  all  difference  between  us;  in  the  other  world,  you 
very  well  know,  there  is  no  such  difference." 

An  extreme  instance  of  English  generosity  is  presented  in 
Kotzebue's  Indianer  in  England:  ^  Robert,  the  son  of  Sir  John 
Smith,  who  had  gone  to  the  East  Indies  as  captain  of  a  vessel 
carrying  a  cargo  valued  at  five  thousand  pounds,  in  hopes  of 
retrieving  the  family  fortune,  returns  empty-handed.  Jack, 
who  is  boatswain  of  the  vessel,  gives  an  account  of  how  this 
came  about.  They  encountered  a  ship-wrecked  vessel  of 
which  ''the  captain,  a  fine  fellow  of  a  Dutchman,  had  lost 
everything  but  his  life  and  the  honor  of  a  sailor;  and  at  home 
sat  his  young  wife  and  three  small  children  who  had  not  a 
morsel  to  put  into  their  mouths.  Whenever  he  spoke  of 
them,  he  pumped  clear  water  from  both  his  eyes.  This  my 
master  could  not  stand.  'Comrade,*  said  he  to  him,  'I  have 
neither  wife  nor  child;  here  are  five  thousand  pounds,  take 
the  purse  and  God  bless  you.' "  To  this  the  equally  generous 
father  says :  "  Did  he  so?  then  for  that  God  will  bless  him ;  and 
I  am  glad  that  he  has  brought  home  nothing  and  will  willingly 
divide  with  him  my  last  morsel."  The  manifestations  of 
generosity  on  the  part  of  Englishmen  in  German  literature 
are,  in  fact,  so  numerous  as  to  leave  no  doubt  that  this  was 
considered  a  common  English  virtue.  As  another  example 
let  us  take  the  case  of  Lady  Milford  in  Kabale  und  Liehe^ 
whose  generosity  prompts  her  to  sell  a  valuable  casket  of 
jewels,  just  presented  her  by  the  prince,  in  order  to  relieve 
the  sufferings  of  four  hundred  destitute  families  whose  village 
on  the  frontier  had  been  destroyed  by  fire;^  and  upon  taking 
flight  from  his  duchy  she  writes  to  the  prince:^  "The 
happiness  of  your  subjects  was  the  condition  of  my  love. 
For  three  years  the  deception  has  lasted.  The  veil  at  length 
falls  from  my  eyes!  I  look  with  disgust  on  favors  which  are 
stained  with  the  tears  of  your  subjects — Bestow  the  love 

1  Act  II,  scene  9. 

2  Act  II,  scene  i. 

3  Act  IV,  scene  9. 


101 


which  I  can  no  longer  accept  upon  your  weeping  country,  and 
learn  from  a  British  princess  compassion  to  your  German 
people." 

An  analysis  of  the  Britisher's  philanthropy  is  attempted 
by  Baron  Bielfeldi^  Charity  also  forms  a  considerable  part 
of  the  distinguishing  character  of  an  Englishman;  but  it  has 
here  a  very  different  external  appearance  from  what  it  has  in 
France.  We  here  see  no  hospitals  where  duchesses  by  the 
bedside  of  the  sick  give  them  their  remedies  on  their  knees. 
The  care  of  this  is  here  left  to  nurses,  who  are  paid  by  the 
public,  whose  trade  it  is,  who  understand  it  better  and  whose 
presence  does  not  lay  any  constraint  on  the  poor  patient.  .  .  . 
The  charity  of  the  English  is  not  theologic,  but  philosophic; 
it  extends  to  those  only  who  are  incapable  of  labor  and  not  to 
the  encouragement  of  idleness.  ...  A  sturdy  beggar[*s]  is 
but  a  bad  trade  in  England.  .  .  .  The  English  count  it  a 
great  charity  also  to  aid  those  who  strive  to  bear  up  against 
their  misfortunes,  or  privately  to  assist  such  foreigners  as 
may  become  embarrassed  among  them.  They  extend  their 
benevolence  even  to  prisoners,  and  consider  it  a  disgrace  to 
humanity  to  suffer  them  to  perish  in  gloomy  and  noxious 
dungeons."  Another  tourist  who  praised  the  liberality  of  the 
English  was  Volkmann,  who  declared  that  the  charitable 
institutions,  even  though  often  poorly  managed,  were  so  re- 
markable as  to  arouse  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all 
visitors ,2  and  a  London  correspondent  to  the  Neues  Gotting- 
isches  Historisches  Magazin  writes  under  date  of  March  12, 
1791  :^  "Anyone  who  wishes  to  learn  and  admire  the  character 
and  especially  the  philanthropy  of  the  English,  must  visit  the 
capital  during  this  season  of  the  year,  for  the  numerous  clubs 
and  charitable  societies  which  have  been  organized  for  a 
thousand  different  purposes,  are  now  holding  their  annual 
banquets,  in  which  everyone  may  take  part  who  pays  his 
guinea."  In  short,  however  biased  and  contradictory  were 
the  judgments  on  other  points,  it  was  generally  conceded  that 

1  Letters.    Vol.  IV,  p.  204. 

2  Neueste  Reisen.    Vol.  I,  p.  31. 
'Vol.  I  (1792),  pt.  I,  p.  192. 


102 


the  English  was  a  philanthropic  people;  and  no  visitor  seems 
to  have  taken  greater  delight  in  extolling  this  virtue  than 
did  Goede:^  "  In  all  fairness  to  other  peoples  it  may  be  safely 
asserted  that  no  European  nation  can  compare  with  the 
English  in  the  number  and  perfection  of  its  charitable  institu- 
tions. In  most  other  countries  the  origin  of  the  finest  monu- 
ments of  noble  benevolence  may  be  traced  to  ancient  times, 
when  a  pious  faith  hoped  to  win  the  favor  of  Heaven  by  means 
of  love  and  compassion;  in  England  they  date  from  the  most 
recent  times,  are  enlarged,  extended  and  improved  yearly 
and  appear  as  the  combined  product  of  religion  and  patriotism. 
What  tender  attention  does  the  unfortunate  man  receive  here ! 
The  respect  shown  him  causes  him  to  forget  his  dependent 
position;  it  is  not  strangers  who  coldly  extend  him  alms,  it  is 
friends  who  lift  him  up,  who,  by  means  of  their  sympathy, 
inspire  in  him  confidence,  courage  and  love  of  life;  he  finds 
himself  no  longer  alone  and  abandoned  in  the  world." 

As  to  the  general  good-nature  and  kindness  of  the  English, 
there  is  some  difference  of  opinion,  but  the  conclusion  usually 
reached  is  that  the  absence  of  these  traits  is  more  apparent  than 
real.  Here  Archenholz  once  more  takes  up  their  defense 
"It  seems  to  me  that  no  better  proof  need  be  alleged  of  the 
good  nature  of  the  English  than  their  deportment  on  all  public 
occasions.  One  is  astonished  to  observe  compassion,  benevo- 
lence, generosity,  and,  in  one  word,  all  the  social  virtues, 
carried  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection,  [even]  among  the  very 
lowest  people.  If  a  stranger  loses  his  way  and  happens  to  ask 
for  any  particular  street  or  house,  the  first  person  whom  he 
meets  will  point  out  his  road  and  even  accompany  him,  without 
the  hope  of  any  recompense:  no  one  ever  experienced  a 
refusal."  By  a  single  instance  which  came  under  his  observa- 
tion Pollnitz  seeks  to  establish  the  kindliness  of  the  populace.^ 
He  tells  of  an  advocate  of  personal  liberty  who,  in  order  to  win 
more  easily  his  wager  that  he  could  run  around  St.  James' 
Park  in  so  many  minutes,  removed  all  his  clothing  and  started 

^England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  215. 

2  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  120. 

^Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  303  (Whatley's  translation). 


103 


on  his  race.  "The  ladies,  astonished  at  such  a  sight,  knew 
not  how  to  keep  their  countenances,  some  turned  their  heads 
aside,  others  hid  their  faces  with  their  fans,  but  they  all  made 
a  row,  as  well  as  the  men,  to  let  him  pass  by.  After  he  had 
finished  his  race,  he  gravely  put  on  his  clothes  near  Whitehall, 
where  he  had  left  them;  and,  as  he  had  won  the  wager, 
abundance  of  people,  instead  of  checking  him  for  his  insolence, 
threw  him  money.  Judge  by  this  if  any  people  be  so  good- 
natured  and  happy  as  the  English."  A  denial  of  British 
kindliness  we  have  already  met  with  in  some  of  the  accounts 
of  their  public  amusements  and  of  their  executions,  which, 
by  a  certain  element  of  the  population,  were  looked  on  as  a 
form  of  diversion.  Bielfeld  deplored  these  practices,  but  he 
did  not  on  that  account  accuse  the  Englishman  of  inherent 
cruelty:^  "All  that  I  find  reprehensible  in  the  general  character 
of  the  English  ...  is  a  certain  insensibility,  which  in  the 
common  people  sometimes  proceeds  to  ferocity,  and  which 
even  reigns  in  their  very  pleasures,  such  as  the  murdering 
chase,  the  baiting  of  bulls  and  other  animals,  their  races,  in 
which  both  men  and  horses  sometimes  perish,  the  brutal 
combats  between  the  men  themselves,  and  other  things  of 
the  same  kind.  The  English  not  only  see  all  these  barbarities 
without  emotion,  but  even  pay  for  the  pleasure  of  seeing  them. 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  their  climate,  their  method  of  living, 
especially  among  the  marine,  wrong  education,  either  physical 
or  moral,  must  have  given  this  insensibility  to  the  English 
and  that  the  fault  does  not  lay  in  their  hearts."  That  the 
British  were  at  least  as  humane  as  other  peoples  was  the  belief 
of  Pollnitz:^  "The  English  are  run  down  for  their  cruelty, 
but  I  know  not  for  what  reason,  unless  it  be  that  in  battle 
they  do  not  readily  give  quarter  and  are  apt  to  pursue  their 
advantage  too  far.  I  fancy  it  would  be  easy  to  prove  that 
other  nations  who  charge  the  English  with  this  vice  are  more 
cruel  than  they.  For  in  short  the  barbarities  committed  in 
the  conquest  of  Mexico,  the  burning  of  the  Palatinate,  the 
Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  the  Sicilian  Vespers,  the 

'^Letters.    Vol.  IV,  p.  206  (Hooper's  translation). 
2  Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  289. 


104 


assassinations  of  the  best  of  kings,  are  cruelties  that  are  not 
to  be  matched  in  the  history  of  England.  We  don't  hear  of 
those  assassinations  in  this  country  that  are  committed  else- 
where, and  even  the  highwayman  seem  to  be  more  humane 
here  than  abroad;  for  they  generally  content  themselves  with 
what  is  given  them  without  shedding  of  blood,  and  some  of 
them  are  so  generous  as  to  give  money  to  people  whom  other 
highwaymen  have  stripped." 

If  we  may  judge  by  the  absolute  lack  of  dissenting  opinion, 
honesty  and  frankness  were  among  the  Britisher's  most 
prominent  characteristics.  So  marked  was  his  frankness,  in 
fact,  that  it  often  won  for  him  the  reputation  of  rudeness  and 
incivihty,  but  these  qualities,  like  his  apparent  lack  of  socia- 
bility, although  in  frequent  evidence  on  the  surface,  were  not 
a  real  element  of  his  nature,  and  all  foreigners  who  were  able 
to  overlook  such  superficialties  came  to  admire  him  for  his 
probity  and  fair-dealing.  "The  English  look  on  hypocrisy," 
observes  Archenholz,^  "as  the  most  despicable  of  all  vices; 
and  from  this  proceeds  that  boldness  of  speech,  which,  if  not 
softened  a  little  by  the  choice  of  expressions,  would  pass  for 
rudeness."  And  in  the  simple  fact  that  they  entertained  a 
deep-seated  hatred  of  the  word  liar  Moritz  saw  an  admirable 
ttait  in  their  character.^ 

A  forceful  example  of  the  British  sense  of  honor  and  in- 
tegrity is  presented  by  Klinger — no  lover  of  the  British — in  his 
play  Elf  ride.  Edgar,  King  of  England,  has  heard  of  the 
beauty  of  Elfride,  but  has  never  seen  her.  He  sends  Ethel- 
wold,  his  trusted  friend  to  confirm  these  rumors  and,  if  they 
should  prove  true,  to  ask  Elfride  to  share  with  him  his  throne. 
But  Ethelwold  himself  falls  in  love  with  the  fair  Elfride.  In 
order  to  leave  open  the  way  to  his  own  happiness  he  reports 
to  the  king  that  she  is  not  worthy  of  becoming  Queen  of  Eng- 
land. Ethelwold  and  Elfride  are  married.  A  year  and  a 
half  later  they  receive  a  visit  from  the  king.  The  deception  is 
apparent.  Ethelwold's  remorse  over  having  violated  his  honor 
knows  no  bounds.    Edgar  rebukes  him     "  You  know  me  and 

^  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  42. 
^  Rets  en  .  .  .  in  England,  p.  116. 
3  Act  V,  scene  2. 


105 


are  aware  that  I  consider  confidence  in  a  friend  and  candor 
man's  chief  adornment."  And  Ethelwold  answers:  ''Your 
just  accusations  are  more  painful  to  me  than  my  near  death. 
I  await  it  without  shrinking  and  conceal  what  my  heart  feels 
at  this  terrible  moment."  In  Schiller's  character  of  Paulet, 
the  guardian  of  Mary  Stuart,  we  see  British  integrity  admir- 
ably portrayed.  And  even  Burleigh,  who  tries  to  make  Paulet 
forget  for  a  time  his  sense  of  honor,  is  still  a  man  of  probity, 
though  with  him  this  virtue  is  overshadowed  by  subtile, 
ruthless  diplomacy 

Burleigh.    Man  breitet  aus,  sie  schwinde,  lasst  sie  kranker 

Und  kranker  werden,  endlich  still  verscheiden; 

So  stirbt  sie  in  der  Menschen  Angedenken — 

Und  euer  Ruf  bleibt  rein. 
Paulet.  Nicht  mein  Gewissen. 

Burleigh.    Wenn  ihr  die  eigene  Hand  nicht  leihen  wollt, 

So  werdet  ihr  der  fremden  doch  nicht  wehren. 
Paulet.       Kein  Morder  soil  sich  ihrer  Schwelle  nahn, 

So  lang  die  Gotter  meines  Dachs  sie  schiitzen. 

From  Bielfeld^  we  learn  that  a  "particular  quality  of  the 
English  is  that  candor  and  that  frankness  of  behaviour  which 
is  the  consequence.  They  think  too  justly  to  wish  to  deceive 
their  brethren  by  false  appearances,  by  those  vain  compliments 
which  flatter  little  minds  and  which  at  the  same  time  are  so 
well  known  to  be  false,  and  to  which  we  give  the  fine  name  of 
politeness.  We  must  not  imagine,  however,  that  rusticity 
predominates  in  England,  and  least  of  all  among  those  whose 
title,  birth  or  fortune  have  given  them  the  advantage  of  a 
liberal  education.  .  .  .  On  the  contrary,  I  find  much  true 
politeness,  much  attention  and  a  strong  desire  to  please." 
Especially  pronounced  is  Volkmann's  enthusiasm:^  "Honesty 
is  also  a  characteristic  of  the  greatest  part  of  the  nation;  the 
Englishman  is  a  man  of  his  word.  It  is  true  that  many 
may  be  found  at  court,  in  the  judgment  chambers  and  at  the 
stock  exchange  who  do  not  always  ask  the  advice  of  their 


1  Maria  Stuart.    Act  II,  scene  8. 

2  Letters.    Vol.  IV,  p.  201. 

^  Neueste  Reisen,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  31. 


106 


conscience;  but,  generally  speaking,  the  English  merchant  is 
honest,  and  the  Englishman  honorable,  so  that  we  may  entrust 
ourselves  to  him  under  trying  circumstances  more  readily 
than  to  a  man  of  another  nation."  Particularly  convincing 
is  the  testimony  of  Wendeborn  on  this  point  on  account  of 
the  conservatism  which  usually  marks  his  praise  of  the  Eng- 
lish:^ "Honesty  and  a  candid  disposition  are  attributed  to 
the  character  of  the  Englishman.  To  this  my  experience 
leads  me  to  agree.  Few  assertions  are  so  general  as  not  to  be 
subject  to  exceptions,  and  scoundrels  and  calculating  [zuriick- 
haltend]  imposters  are  to  be  found  here  as  well  as  in  other 
countries,  but  on  the  whole  the  nation  can  justly  claim  for 
itself  the  glory  of  honesty.  .  .  .  There  are  here,  as  I  have 
already  said,  hypocrites,  impostors,  misers,  deceivers,  as  else- 
where, but  the  rank  and  file  of  the  people  are  honorable  and 
honest,  and,  with  all  due  regard  for  other  nations,  if  I  had  to 
entrust  myself,  under  dangerous  or  trying  circumstances,  to  a 
stranger,  I  would  give  the  preference  to  the  Englishman." 

The  Britisher's  sense  of  honor  as  shown  in  his  faithfulness 
to  a  promise  of  any  nature  whatever  won  the  admiration  of 
Kielmansegge,  who  observes  in  connection  with  the  prize-fights 
so  popular  in  England,  that^  "there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt 
that  the  bets  are  duly  paid,  although  frequently  the  parties 
do  not  know  one  another,  or  have  seldom  seen  one  another." 
And  Archenholz  eulogizes  the  honesty  even  of  the  notorious 
London  thieves:^  "Nothing  is  more  astonishing  than  the 
fidelity,  I  may  even  say  the  probity  of  these  wretches  in 
regard  to  one  another :  this  appears  in  the  mutual  dangers  that 
they  run,  the  fair  division  that  they  make  of  the  spoil,  and,  in 
fine,  is  perceptible  through  their  whole  behaviour.  This  phe- 
nomenon fully  justifies  the  English  proverb  that  'there  is 
honor  among  thieves.'" 

Despite  the  Englishman's  reverence  for  tradition  and  the 
established  order  of  things — a  quality  in  his  make-up  to  which 
many  German  writers  refer — he  was  always  on  the  lookout 
for  something  new  and  unusual,  and  his  readiness  to  accept  a 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  270. 

2  Diary,  p.  242. 

^  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  86. 


107 


new  idea  often  amounted  to  gullibility.  The  good  effects  of 
this  quality  were  recognized  by  Archenholz:^  "The  Briton,  in 
Parliament  as  well  as  at  the  tavern,  says  with  regard  to  doubt- 
ful questions,  /  am  open  to  conviction,  and  if  this  conviction 
follows,  he  readily  admits  it.  I  hope  that  this  virtue,  so 
worthy  of  imitation,  may  one  day  characterize  the  German 
nation."  Elsewhere  Archenholz  calls  this  same  open-minded- 
ness  by  a  different  name:^  "It  is  remarked  that  no  [other] 
nation  is  so  credulous  as  the  English;"  and  again ,^  "Although 
the  people  are  daily  instructed  by  frequent  examples,  they  are 
still  disposed  to  believe  every  impostor." 

The  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  was,  in  fact,  the 
golden  age  of  impostors  and  swindlers  of  all  kinds,  and  nowhere 
did  they  find  a  more  favorable  field  for  their  activities  than  in 
the  city  of  London.  In  describing  the  Englishman  as  credu- 
lous German  writers  were,  accordingly,  simply  adding  their 
testimony  to  an  otherwise  well  established  fact.  In  his  essay 
on  the  arch-swindler  of  the  century,  Cagliostro,  Carlyle  says 
of  this  period:^  " It  was  the  very  age  of  impostors,  cut-purses, 
swindlers,  double-gaugers,  enthusiasts,  ambiguous  persons; 
quacks  simple,  quacks  compound,  crack-brained,  or  with 
deceit  prepense;  quacks  and  quackeries  of  all  colors  and  kinds. 
How  many  Mesmerists,  Magicians,  Cabalists,  Swedenborgians, 
Illuminati,  Crucified  Nuns,  and  Devils  of  London!  To  which 
the  Inquisition  Biographer  adds  Vampires,  Sylphs,  Rosicru- 
cians.  Freemasons,  and  an  Et  cetera.  Consider  your  Schrop- 
fers,  Cagliostros,  Casanovas,  Saint-Germains,  Dr.  Grahams; 
the  Chevalier  d'Em,  Psalmanazer,  Abbe  Paris  and  the  Ghost 
of  Cock  Lane!  As  if  Bedlam  had  broken  loose;  as  if  rather 
(in  that  spiritual  Twelfth-hour  of  the  night)  the  everlasting- 
pit  had  opened  itself,  and  from  its  still  blacker  bosom  had 
issued  Madness  and  all  manner  of  shapeless  Misbirths,  to 
masquerade  and  chatter  there."  From  Biischel  we  hear 
something  of  the  success  of  all  these  impostors:^  "That  these 

^  Minerva.    Vol.  VII,  p.  522.    Sept.  1793. 

2  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  58. 

3  ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  69. 

*  Critical  and  Miscellaneous  Essays.    Boston,  1859.    p.  435  (First  appeared 
in  Eraser's  Magazine,  1833). 
5  Neue  Reisen,  p.  114. 


308 


gentlemen  [Dr.  Graham  and  Katerfelto]  and  all  their  brethren 
have  a  great  following  and  dispose  of  their  wares  to  advantage 
I  can  testify  from  my  own  observation;  and  the  fact  is  all  the 
less  questionable  when  we  take  into  account  a  prominent 
element  in  the  nature  of  the  English — their  curiosity,  which  is 
apparent  in  all  walks  of  life,  among  all  classes  of  the  people. 
Since  this  weakness  is  generally  recognized,  is  it  surprising 
that  there  are  people  who  take  advantage  of  it  in  order  to 
enrich  themselves?  .  .  .  For  an  adventurous  brain  nothing  is 
easier  than  to  lead  all  London  by  the  nose  by  means  of  some 
simple  mechanical  toy,  and  such  deceptions  have  been  of 
frequent  occurrence."  ^  Twenty  years  later  the  situation 
showed  no  marked  improvement "Superstition  appears  in 
England  in  all  forms  in  which  it  is  seen  in  other  countries; 
fortune-tellers,  treasure  seekers  [Schatzgraber],  astrologistsand 
visionaries  are  perhaps  quite  as  numerous  here  as  in  any  other 
country  of  Europe.  Sympathetic  healing  is  practised,  children 
wear  amulets,  and  every  possible  precaution  is  taken  against 
witch-craft." 

Concerning  the  Englishman's  credu!lity  many  anecdotes  were 
told.  The  following,  from  Wendeborn,^  is  typical:  "A  few 
years  ago  a  wag  announced  in  the  newspapers  on  the  last  day 
of  March  that  one  of  the  strangest  processions  would  be  seen 
the  following  day  at  noon  moving  toward  Westminster  Abbey. 
The  announcement  itself  bore  the  marks  of  fabrication. 
Nevertheless,  a  large  crowd  assembled  near  the  Abbey;  in  fact, 
many  were  to  be  seen  waiting  in  carriages,  until  someone 
finally  cried :  Today  is  April  the  first! " 

His  predilection  for  the  novel  was  doubtless  responsible  in 
part  for  the  Englishman's  belief  in  improbable  things.  Ac- 
cording to  Kiittner,^  this  feeling  was  so  strong  that  every  one 
made  it  a  point  to  have  on  hand  only  such  furniture,  clothing 

^  "Fiir  einen  unternehmenden  Kopf  ist  nichts  leichter  als  mit  einera  Spiel- 
werk  ganz  London  am  Narrenseile  herumzufiihren,  wie  dieses  bereits  mehrere- 
mals  geschehen  ist." 

2  Goede's  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  395. 

2  Zusiand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  295. 

*  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  England.  A.  d.  B.  Vol.  CX  (1792),  pt.  i, 
p.  215. 


109 


or  linen  as  his  needs  required,  so  that  it  might  be  practicable 
to  acquire  new  styles  as  they  made  their  appearance.  The 
interest  in  current  events,  real  and  imaginary,  was  a  further 
indication  of  the  presence  of  this  trait  in  the  character  of  the 
Londoner.  "How  rapidly  news  spreads  here!",  exclaims 
Forster.i  "Fresh  nourishment  must  be  continually  provided 
for  this  greedy  animal  with  eight  hundred  thousand  throats! 
Yesterday  the  King  of  Sweden  died  of  bilious  fever;  today  the 
Queen  of  Russia  was  assassinated;  the  Spanish  have  seized 
Jamaica,  France  is  equipping  twenty  men-of-war.  And  again 
only  reports  of  peace  are  heard  throughout  the  city." 

But  regardless  of  all  this  the  Englishman  was  considered 
preeminently  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  common  sense, 
and  unstinted  was  the  praise  of  his  intelligence  and  personal 
culture.  With  the  present-day  interest  in  spiritualism,  of 
which  England  seems  to  be  one  of  the  strong-holds,  the 
eighteenth  century  attitude  presents  a  sharp  contrast,  if  we 
may  rely  on  the  statement  of  Biischel "  Nobody  here  concerns 
himself  about  departed  spirits,  nor  about  those  which  they 
wish  to  call  back;  .  .  .  nobody  stops  to  think  about  whether 
it  is  safe  and  expedient  to  go  on  occupying  a  room  in  which  a 
relative  or  friend  hanged  himself  the  day  before;  for  such 
considerations  nobody  has  time,  so  great  are  the  demands  of 
work  or  pleasure." 

It  is  not  without  significance  that  the  Englishman,  Lord 
Seymour,  in  Schiller's  uncompleted  novel,  Der  Geisterseher, 
is  the  rationalist  whom  it  is  impossible  to  deceit^e  by  the  faked 
appearance  of  ghosts.  This  significance  is  somewhat  em- 
phasized by  the  fact  that  the  characters  in  the  story  are  of 
several  different  nationalities,  and  sanity  of  judgment  is  thus, 
in  a  sense,  made  an  especial  attribute  of  the  English.  In  fact, 
Lord  Seymour  can  scarcely  be  said  to  reveal  any  other  dis- 
tinctive traits  than  his  rationalism  and  a  decided  proclivity 
toward  swearing;  and  this,  too,  is  undoubtedly  to  be  taken 
as  a  mark  of  British  nationality.^    No  doubt  is  left  as  to  the 

1  Ansichien,  etc.,  p.  372. 

2  Neue  Reisen,  p.  47. 

^  Frequent  are  the  references  to  the  profanity  of  the  English.  For  instance, 
Lichtenberg  (Urtheile,  etc.,  Vermischte  Schriften,  Vol.  II,  p.  121);  "If  countries 


110 


opinion  of  Wendeborn -}  "The  almost  total  absence  of  coercion 
from  English  education  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  the  freedom 
of  thought  and  action,  and  it  is  the  chief  source  of  the  sound 
intelligence,  or  bon  sens,  which  is  met  with  more  generally 
among  the  English  than  elsewhere.  Parents  and  teachers  can 
tolerate  contradictions  here,  if  it  seems  to  be  reasonable,  and 
a  tone  of  finality  is  less  frequently  heard  here  than  abroad." 

When  Biischel  came  to  consider  the  general  intelligence  of 
the  English,  his  usually  great  admiration  for  them  took  on  new 
warmth :2  ''The  better  acquainted  I  become  here,  the  more  I 
am  associated  with  Englishmen,  the  more  estimable  they 
appear  to  me.  .  .  .  And  the  cause  of  this  high  esteem?  I 
have  found  that  every  Englishman — no  rank,  no  class,  neither 
sex  excepted — is  in  his  way  a  thinker.  What  beneficent  spirit 
has  cast  its  blessing  upon  the  inhabitants  of  this  land  and 
dispelled  the  demons  which  still  tyrannize,  if  not  whole  nations, 
at  least  the  souls  of  the  masses?  What  flash  of  lightning  has 
illuminated  their  understanding,  while  many  of  their  fellow- 
men,  though  they  think,  to  be  sure,  that  they  are  walking  in 
the  sunlight,  are  still  groping  in  the  dark?"  Biischel,  in  fact, 
all  but  forgot  his  loyalty  to  his  own  country  in  his  praise  of 
the  English:^  "Enlightenment,  that  idol  of  our  men  of  letters, 
which  we  take  such  great  pains  to  spread,  which  we  often 
imagine  we  see  where  it  is  not,  which  we  flatter  ourselves  we 
possess,  loudly  trumpeting  the  claim  abroad;  this  divine  gift 
we  find  here  and,  I  might  almost  say,  here  alone.  .  .  .  Native 
common  sense,  freedom  of  thought,  which,  to  be  sure,  often 
leads  to  impertinences,  the  pure,  uncorrupted  service  of  the 
Church  of  England,  which  does  not  promote  or  produce  foolish 
conduct,  and  the  education,  are  the  indisputable  sources  of 
this  rare  and  beneficient  influence."  Lichtenberg,  somewhat 
more  patriotic  than  Biischel,  attempts  a  defense  of  his  fellow- 
were  named  frpm  the  words  that  are  first  heard  [in  them],  England  would  have 
to  be  called  damn  it."  See  also  Moritz:  Reisen,  etc.,  p.  135;  and  Heine: 
EngUsche  Fragmente.  Sdmmtliche  Werke.  Hamburg,  1876.  Vol.  HI,  pp. 
16-17. 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  244. 

2  Neue  Reisen,  \,.  4c;, 

3  ibid.,  pp.  51-52. 


Ill 


countrymen :i  "I  believe  that  the  intelligence  of  the  German, 
in  comparison  with  the  Englishman,  is  more  stifled;  and  this 
is  to  be  greatly  deplored.  The  German,  for  instance,  sup- 
presses his  laughter  under  certain  circumstances  simply  be- 
cause he  knows  it  is  the  proper  thing  to  do,  while  the  English- 
man does  not  laugh  because  he  sees  nothing  amusing." 

As  to  the  general  culture  of  the  English  people  we  have 
already  heard  much  testimony,  and  still  a  great  deal  more 
might  be  presented.  Archenholz,  for  instance,  refers  to 
England  as  the  most  cultivated  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ,2 
and  Kiittner  writes:^  "The  longer  I  stay  in  England  and  the 
more  general  are  my  observations  here,  the  more  I  must  admire 
the  remarkable  civilization  of  the  country  and  the  culture  of 
its  citizens."  From  Taube  also  we  hear  in  extravagant  terms 
of  the  enlightenment  of  the  English:^  "Here  it  is  a  disgrace  to 
be  ignorant  and  to  read  nothing;  in  other  countries  it  is  often 
considered  an  honor.  When  a  farmer,  .  .  .  tired  out  from  his 
day's  work,  comes  home,  he  takes  up  a  new  book  and  reads 
it  so  attentively  that  he  is  able  to  appreciate  and  intelligently 
discuss  its  contents;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  English 
woman." 

The  Englishman's  independence  of  thought,  so  striking  to 
the  foreigner,  was  often  carried  to  the  extreme  of  oddity. 
Every  one  was  more  or  less  a  law  unto  himself,  and  the  tend- 
ency seemed  to  be  to  exaggerate  all  natural  idiosyncracies. 
Once  more  political  liberty  is  held  responsible:^  "Another 
effect  of  their  freedom  is  caprice  and  humor;  and  hence  their 
disposition  for  extraordinaries  and  peculiarities,  in  which  they 
sometimes  run  strange  lengths."  This  idea  is  enlarged  upon  in 
the  Annalen  der  Brittischen  Geschichte:^  "The  British  spirit  of 
liberty  engenders  many  whimsicalities.  These  can  not  be 
held  in  check,  so  long  as  they  are  not  contrary  to  the  law. 

^  Urtheile,  etc.    Vermischte  Schriften.    Vol.  II,  p.  120. 
^Annalen.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  374. 

^  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  England.  N.  A.  d.  B.,  Vol.  II  (1793)  # 
pt.  2,  p.  612. 

^  Abschilderung,  etc.    Pt.  I,  p.  3. 
^  Toze's  Present  State  of  Europe.    Vol.  II,  p.  203. 
6  Vol.  I,  p.  402. 
9 


112 


Conventionality,  decorum,  public  opinion,  all  receive  little 
or  no  consideration  from  people  who  take  pleasure  in  following 
their  own  harmless  inclinations.  .  .  .  The  just  or  distorted 
judgment  of  other  people,  once  it  is  p]aced  against  realities, 
can  neither  lessen  nor  increase  the  happiness  of  an  intelligent, 
independent  man ;  a  happiness  which — even  if  only  imaginary 
— has  for  him  far  more  reality  than  the  one-sided,  transient 
thoughts  of  many  moralizers,  which,  when  balanced  against 
real,  inner  satisfaction,  are  found*  to  be  negligible.  In  no 
[other]  country  in  the  world  is  this  philosophy  practicable  to 
such  an  extent  as  in  England,  and  whenever  the  Britisher 
commits  a  strikingly  singular  deed,  he  confirms  the  great 
maxim:  'Man's  own  will  is  his  heaven.'" 

Many  anecdotes  illustrative  of  the  whimsicality  of  the 
people  are  to  be  found  throughout  Archenholz'  voluminous 
writings  on  things  British.  He  tells,  for  instance,  of  an  old 
lady  who  had  her  lap-dog  buried  as  though  it  had  been  a 
human  being "All  her  servants  were  required  to  form  a 
procession  to  the  grave,  and,  according  to  the  custom  at 
English  funerals,  they  wore  white  gloves,  black  silk  hat- 
bands, crepe  and  other  articles  of  mourning.  She  herself 
appeared  in  deep  mourning,  which  she  continued  to  wear  for 
several  weeks."  Another  case  was  that  of^  "the  honorable 
Wortley  Montague,  brother-in-law  to  Lord  Bute,  who,  when 
a  child,  ran  away  from  his  father's  house  to  become  a  chim- 
ney-sweeper. .  .  .  These  fantastical  actions,"  concludes  Arch- 
enholz, "are  very  frequent  in  England,  and  they  there  pass 
under  the  denomination  of  whimsy  Another  of  Lichtenberg's 
interesting  comparisons  is  relevant  here:^  "In  England  origi- 
nal characters  are  found  in  society  and  among  the  common 
people  in  greater  number  than  in  the  literature.  We,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  a  large  number  in  the  Messkatalog,  few  in 
society  and  in  ordinary  life  and  on  the  gallows  none  at  all."  ^ 

^  Annalen,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  403. 

Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  138. 
3  Urtheile,  etc.    Vermischte  Schriften.    Vol.  II,  p.  119. 

^  Separation  from  his  native  land  seemed  to  accentuate  the  nationality  of 
the  Britisher.  As  a  continental  tourist  he  presented  his  worst  side;  far  from 
adapting  himself  to  the  conditions  of  his  new  environment,  he  deliberately 


113 


The  Englishman  of  the  eighteenth  century  usually  impressed 
the  foreigner  as  being  of  a  serious,  frequently  of  a  morbid 
disposition.  He  was  still  strongly  under  the  influence  of 
Puritanism,  and  his  piety  often  bordered  on  fanaticism.  Of 
this  we  hear  from  Goede:^  "Among  all  the  phenomena  which 
surprise  the  foreigner  in  England,  the  piety  of  the  nation,  on 
account  of  its  effects,  remains  by  far  the  most  remarkable. 
While  in  other  countries  religious  indifference,  now  boldly, 
now  disguised,  appears  in  an  honorable  form,  in  England  an 
orthodox  fanaticism  seems  to  gain  steadily  a  stronger  hold, 
and  while  among  other  nations  philosophic  Titans  take  Heaven 
by  storm,  the  insane  asylums  of  England  are  filled  with  those 
poor  wretches  who  lose  their  minds  in  a  convulsion  of  piety  or 
in  their  zeal  for  a  Christian  dogma."  This  orthodoxy  like- 
wise made  a  deep  impression  on  Archenholz:^  "  It  is  surprising 
that  the  enlightenment  in  England,  which  in  the  field  of 
science  has  made  such  broad  strides  and  dispelled  so  many 
prejudices,  produces  no  appreciable  change  in  the  attitude 
toward  religion  and  does  not  even  weaken  the  adherence  to 
old  tradition.  We  must  conclude  that  freedom  itself,  which 
admits  of  the  public  profession  of  every  religious  opinion, 
yields  a  phenomenon  which  in  other  countries  violence  to 
conscience,  tolerance  edicts,  auto-da-fes  and  dragonades  can 
not  produce:  true,  pious,  blind  faith  of  every  kind." 

That  the  Englishman  took  his  religion  too  seriously  was 
not  the  opinion  of  Buschel:^  "It  is  not  the  belief  that  this 

sought  to  appear  as  a  unique  character.  Of  this  we  hear  from  a  nineteenth 
century  writer:  "The  inhabitants  of  the  insular  country  who  visit  the  Continent 
distinguish  themselves  by  their  extravagant  behaviour,  and  if  an  opinion  were 
formed  from  them  of  the  character,  customs  and  manners  of  the  English  people, 
one  would  be  justified  in  considering  England  a  large  lunatic  asylum.  At  home 
it  occurs  to  no  sensible  Englishman  to  distinguish  himself  by  unusual  attire  or 
by  conduct  which  would  make  him  conspicuous  in  the  company  of  his  fellows. 
In  London  every  cultured  man  is  even  more  a  slave  of  custom  and  etiquette 
than  anywhere  else,  and  whimsical  personages  are  held  in  as  much  scorn  and 
contempt  there  as  in  other  countries  (Von  Weech:  Reise  icber  England  .  .  . 
1823-27.    3  Vols,  in  2.    Miinchen,  183 1.    Vol.  I,  p.  81). 

^England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  170. 

^  Annalen,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  326. 

3  Neue  Reisen,  p.  48. 


lU 

life  must  be  given  over  to  a  preparation  for  the  future  life, 
but  a  part  of  it  is  devoted  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  present, 
and — still  more  important — no  one  is  ashamed  to  admit  this." 

The  tourist  from  the  Continent  was  struck  by  the  strict 
observance  of  the  Sabbath.  So  great  was  the  solemnity  of  the 
day  that  a  foreigner  on  his  first  Sunday  in  England  might 
easily  have  believed  that  some  unusual  event  had  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  religious  feelings  of  the  people,  arousing  a 
spirit  of  devout  penitence. ^  This  was  a  matter  of  such  general 
knowledge  as  not  to  escape  Berckenmeyer,  limited  as  his 
acquaintance  with  things  British  was:^  "The  English  are 
devout  observers  of  the  Sabbath :  for  in  England  it  is  not  even 
permissible  on  Sunday  to  sell  anything,  to  travel,  to  play,  to 
sing  secular  songs,  or  to  touch  a  musical  instrument,  unless 
one  wishes  to  incur  a  heavy  fine."  Moritz  was  taken  to  task 
for  his  laxity  by  a  twelve  year  old  boy:^  "When  I  began  to 
hum  in  his  presence  some  merry  tune,  he  looked  at  me  very 
thoughtfully  and  very  much  surprised  and  reminded  me  that 
it  was  Sunday.  In  order  not  to  scandalise  him  I  answered  that 
the  confusion  incident  to  my  journey  had  caused  me  to  lose 
sight  of  the  day."  And  thus  a  German  clergyman  perjured 
himself  to  spare  the  moral  feelings  of  an  English  youth. 

A  causal  relation  between  these  remains  of  Puritanism 
and  the  seriousness  of  the  British  temperament  is  pointed  out 
by  Archenholz "The  clergy  and  the  laity  who  wish  to  pass 
for  good  Christians  seem  to  think  that  abstaining  from  all 
work  and  worldly  affairs  on  a  Sunday  entitles  them  to  such 
denomination.  This  Judaical  and  popular  custom  is  sup- 
ported by  a  statute  which  was  enacted  when  Puritanism  was 
in  full  vigor  and  which  has  not  a  little  contributed  to  that 
gloomy  taciturnity  which  forms  such  a  conspicuous  part  of  the 
Englishman's  character." 

On  no  other  point  do  we  find  so  much  difference  of  opinion 
as  on  this  "gloomy  taciturnity."    In  fact,  it  is  not  difficult  to 

1  Goede's  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  187. 

Neuvermehrter  Curieuser  Antiquarius,  p.  212. 
3  Reisen  .  .  .  in  England,  p.  1 1 . 
^  Picture  of  England.    Vol,  I,  p.  170. 


115 


find  German  writers  flatly  contradicting  their  own  previous 
statements  on  this  subject.  Archenholz,  for  instance,  after 
frequent  allusions  to  the  extreme  gravity  of  the  British  ,i 
writes  in  the  Annalen  der  Brittischen  Geschichte:'^  ''It  is  a 
mistake  to  consider  the  British  a  sad  nation.  In  no  other 
European  country  are  so  many  popular  celebrations  held  as 
in  England."  In  Toze  we  read  of  the  English^  that  "their 
melancholy  disposition  makes  them  discontented  and  splenetic, 
though  the  latter  be  rather  a  distemper  of  the  body  than  the 
mind,  and  sometimes  terminates  in  suicide."  And  this,  on 
the  heels  of  the  following  statement:^  "Good  cheer  is  common 
among  all  ranks  and  a  consequence  of  their  happy  situation 
and  easy  circumstances." 

On  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit  to  France  after  the  Revolu- 
tion Kiittner  observed  a  marked  change  in  the  French  people. 
He  found  them  more  serious  and  thoughtful  and  less  polite 
and  cordial  to  foreigners;  in  other  words,  there  was  more  of 
das  Englische  in  their  character.  This  change  was  attributed 
in  a  large  measure  to  the  new  form  of  government;  in  the 
opinion  of  Kiittner  participation  in  government  affairs  super- 
induced serious-mindedness :^  "The  gloomy,  introspective, 
serious  temperament  of  the  Englishman,  the  silence  that  has 
become  habitual  with  him,  his  indifference  toward  everything 
that  does  not  directly  concern  him,  his  spirit  of  restlessness,  his 
jealousy,  his  suspicion,  have  become  proverbial;  of  all  this 
the  Frenchman  will  have  his  share,  with  the  only  difference, 
of  course,  which  a  more  southern  climate,  purer  air  and  lighter 
food  will  make."  With  the  foregoing  opinion  we  find  Goethe 
in  hearty  agreement.  The  Englishman's  melancholy  views 
of  life,  attributable  chiefly  to  his  civic  responsibilities,  had 
far-reaching  effects  in  Germany:^  "Such  gloomy  contempla- 

1  See  for  example,  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  67. 

2  Vol.  I,  p.  438. 

3  Present  State  of  Europe.    Vol.  II,  p.  205. 

4  ibid.,  p.  203. 

6  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  Frankreich,  p.  99. 

^Dichtung  und  Wahrheit.  Th.  Ill,  Buch  13.  Weimar  ed.  Vol.  XXVIII, 
p.  212.  The  translation  is  that  of  Oxenford:  Autobiography  of  Goethe.  Revised 
ed.    2  Vols.    London,  1897.    Vol.  I,  p.  504. 


116 


tions,  which  lead  him  who  has  resigned  himself  to  them  into 
the  infinite,  would  not  have  developed  themselves  so  decidedly 
in  the  minds  of  the  German  youths  had  not  an  outward 
occasion  excited  and  furthered  in  them  this  dismal  business. 
This  was  caused  by  English  literature,  especially  the  poetical 
part,  the  great  beauties  of  which  are  accompanied  by  an  earnest 
melancholy,  which  it  communicates  to  everyone  who  occupies 
himself  with  it.  The  intellectual  Briton,  from  his  youth  up, 
vSees  himself  surrounded  by  a  significant  world,  which  stimu- 
lates all  his  powers ;  he  perceives  sooner  or  later  that  he  must 
collect  all  his  understanding  to  come  to  terms  with  it.  How 
many  of  their  poets  have  in  their  youth  led  a  loose  and  riotous 
life,  and  soon  found  themselves  justified  in  complaining  of  the 
vanity  of  all  earthly  things?  How  many  of  them  have  tried 
their  fortune  in  worldly  occupations,  have  taken  parts, 
principal  or  subordinate,  in  Parliament,  at  court,  in  the 
ministry,  in  situations  with  the  embassy,  shown  their  active 
cooperation  in  the  internal  troubles  and  changes  of  state  and 
government,  and,  if  not  in  themselves,  at  least  in  their  friends 
and  patrons,  more  frequently  made  sad  than  pleasant  experi- 
ences! How  many  have  been  banished,  imprisoned,  or  in- 
jured with  respect  to  property!  Even  the  circumstance  of 
being  the  spectator  of  such  great  events  calls  man  to  serious- 
ness; and  whither  can  seriousness  lead  further  than  to  a  con- 
templation of  the  transient  nature  and  worthlessness  of  all 
things?" 

Pollnitz  found  a  melancholy  temperament  common  to  al- 
most all  Englishmen  ,1  and  Goede  accepted  their  seriousness 
as  inevitable :2  ''Among  all  nations  which  have,  on  account  of 
the  sanctity  of  certain  ideas,  continually  held  themselves  to  a 
uniform  course,  seriousness  is  deeply  ingrained  in  the  char- 
acter." Here  again  Wendeborn  dissents:^  "Sadness  and 
melancholy  are  said  to  be  innate  with  the  inhabitants  of  this 
island.  I  do  not  believe  it.  They  are  all  pleasure-lovers, 
although  everyone  is  guided  in  his  choice  of  amusements  by  his 
own  imagination  and  his  own  ridiculous  whims.  .  .  .  The  Eng- 

1  Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  287. 

^England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  277. 

^  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  pp.  281-83. 


117 


lish  have  changed  during  the  course  of  this  century;  one  can 
no  longer  say  that  their  blood  is  blacker  and  heavier  than 
that  of  other  peoples."  Another  German  who  found  the 
English  more  cheerful,  merrier  and  livelier  than  they  were 
usually  represented  to  be  by  tourists,  was  Heinrich  von 
Watzdorf,^  who  visited  England  in  1784  and  returned  home 
to  vie  with  Archenholz  in  singing  that  country's  praises.  And 
we  might  go  on  presenting  testimony  on  both  sides  of  this 
disputed  case;  but  it  would  not  alter  our  conclusion  that  the 
Englishman  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  regarded  by  his 
German  contemporaries  as  being  in  general  over-serious  and 
frequently  of  a  morbid,  melancholy  temperament.  That  this 
impression  underwent  some  modification  toward  the  end  of 
the  century  is  evident,  due,  it  may  be,  to  some  extent,  to  such 
a  change  as  Wendeborn  thought  he  saw  in  the  Englishman, 
but  perhaps  still  more  to  a  better  acquaintance  between  the 
two  countries. 

This  much  talked-of  melancholy  resulted  in  suicide  so 
frequently  as  to  create  the  impression  that  life  was  held  in 
comparatively  slight  regard  in  England.  Throughout  the 
voluminous  Annalen  der  Brittischen  Geschichte  we  read  numer- 
ous accounts  of  suicide,  but  its  author  maintained  that  this 
evil  was  quite  as  common  in  Paris  as  in  London. ^  In  1727 
Haller  writes:^  "Suicide  is  somewhat  less  common  [than 
formerly],  although  these  people,  who  go  to  extremes  in  every- 
thing and  usually  pay  toll  to  folly  at  least  once  [der  Narrheit 
einen  Zoll  abgiebt  .  .  .],  sometimes,  on  very  slight  pretexts, 
take  their  own  lives;  and  nobody  pays  much  attention  to  it." 
Especially  baffling  to  Pollnitz  was  this  British  propensity:^ 

^  Briefe  zur  Characteristik  von  England,  etc.  Leipzig,  1786.  A.  L.  Z.,  1787, 
Vol.  I,  No.  4,  section  30.  Ten  years  later  in  the  same  periodical  (1797,  Vol.  IV. 
No.  314,  section  14)  we  again  read  a  denial  of  the  assertion  that  the  English 
are  of  a  sterner,  gloomier  disposition  than  people  of  other  nationalities. 

2  Picture  of  England.  Vol.  I,  p.  177.  Such  was  not  the  belief  of  Wendeborn, 
who  observed  that  the  French  emigres  in  London  and  Hamburg  made  the  best 
of  their  unhappy  circumstances.  .  .  .  "The  Englishman  would  perhaps  have 
resorted  to  a  pistol  or  a  rope,  where  Frenchmen,  singing,  awaited  better  times" 
{Er inner un gen.    p.  299). 

^  Tagebiicher,  etc.,  p.  129. 

*  Memoirs.    Vol.  IH,  p.  292. 


118 


"'Tis  one  of  the  distinguishing  characters  of  an  Englishman 
to  be  intrepid  in  the  matter  of  death.  We  are  forbid  by 
religion  to  approve  of  that  contempt  of  life,  yet  we  can't  help 
admiring  it  in  the  Romans,  from  whom  the  English  have  no 
doubt  derived  the  practice  of  putting  an  end  to  their  days, 
when  life  is  a  burden  to  them.  These  self-murders  are  but 
too  frequent  here  and  are  committed  by  persons  of  good 
families,  as  well  as  by  the  dregs  of  the  people.  .  .  .  You 
must  agree  with  me  in  the  impossibility  of  accounting  for 
such  a  strange,  odd  turn  of  mind  in  these  people,  for,  in  short, 
other  nations  don't  seem  by  their  action  to  have  any  more 
religion  than  the  English,  and  they  are  equally  sensible  to 
misfortunes;  yet  one  rarely  hears  of  a  foreigner  making  an 
attempt  on  himself." 

The  depressing  climate  of  England  was  not  without  its 
effects  on  the  people.  Lichtenberg  tells  us  what  was  to  be 
expected  of  them  on  gloomy  days:^  ''The  Englishman  draws 
his  overcoat  collar  over  his  nose  and  slinks  along,  lost  in  his 
whims;  some  prophesy,  others  mend  their  ways  and  others 
shoot  themselves.  .  .  .  Lucky  is  he  who,  under  such  a  heavy 
sky,  has  a  clear  conscience  and  is  not  in  love,  at  least  not  with 
bad  prospects;  otherwise  he  cuts  his  throat,  as  did  Lord  Clive, 
shoots  himself,  as  my  neighbor  did  recently,  or  hangs  himself, 
as  a  pretty  young  girl  of  sixteen  did  last  Saturday."  But 
Volkmann  looked  elsewhere  for  an  explanation  of  the  fre- 
quency of  suicide.  Courage  and  contempt  of  death,  in  his 
opinion,  were  erroneously  taken  as  the  causes:^  "Would  it 
not  be  more  reasonable  to  hold  the  customary  education 
responsible?  A  man  who,  from  youth  up,  has  been  unaccus- 
tomed to  hold  his  desires  in  check  and  who  is  without  any 
religious  principles,  as  is  unfortunately  most  often  the  case  in 
England,  easily  reaches  the  determination  to  end  a  dis- 
contented life."  More  frequently  do  we  encounter  views  on 
this  point  similar  to  those  of  Biischel.^  According  to  him,  the 
prospect  of  being  hanged  did  not  check  the  robber  in  his 
thefts;  almost  daily  he  saw  some  companion  strung  up,  and 

Brief e.    Vol.  I,  p.  204.    Jan.  10,  1775,  to  Baldinger. 

2  Neueste  Reisen.    Vol.  I,  p.  32. 

3  Neue  Reisen,  etc.,  p.  65. 


119 


he  came  to  look  upon  such  an  exit  from  the  world  simply  as 
being  less  painful  than  a  natural  death.  Therefore  it  had  no 
terrors  for  him.  "In  addition  there  is  the  general  inclination 
of  this  people  toward  melancholy,  the  contempt  of  life  which 
has  already,  in  a  moment  of  despondency,  armed  many  a  good 
Englishman  against  himself,  leading  him  to  take  his  own  life 
almost  without  knowing  why." 

There  seemed  to  be  no  decrease  in  the  number  of  suicides 
toward  the  end  of  the  century;  on  the  contrary,  we  learn  from 
a  letter  written  September  i8,  1796,  to  the  Merkur^  that  the 
evil  was  becoming  more  prevalent,  and  that  the  debating 
societies  of  London  were  giving  it  their  attention  in  their 
discussions  of  the  serious  problems  of  the  day. 

^  November,  1796.    p.  315. 


CHAPTER  VII 


INDIVIDUAL  BRITISH  TYPES 

The  wholesomeness  and  the  frank,  open  nature  of  the  Eng- 
Hsh  youth  created  on  the  foreigner  a  very  favorable  impression. 
The  freedom  which  the  EngHshman  enjoyed,  even  from  early 
childhood,  was  sometimes  held  accountable  for  a  sort  of  wild- 
ness  and  savagery  in  his  nature — a  sort  of  Storm-and-Stress 
element — but  this,  if  it  appeared  at  all,  was  usually  a  transitory 
fault  which  was  overcome  in  early  manhood.  "The  English 
youth,"  as  he  appears  to  Goede,^  "is  characterized  by  charm- 
ing candor  and  ingenuous  good-cheer."  Even  in  the  small 
child  the  beneficent  effects  of  English  environment  are  ap- 
parent to  Moritz:^  "Despite  the  growing  mania  for  new 
fashions,  one  remains  true  to  nature  here  up  to  certain  years. 
What  a  contrast  when  I  think  of  our  six  year  old  pale,  pam- 
pered Berlin  boys  with  their  large  hair-bags  [Haarbeutel] 
and  the  full  dress  of  an  adult,  their  suits  perhaps  even  trimmed 
with  lace,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  of  the  vigorous,  slender, 
robust  boys  with  bare  throat  and  closely  cut,  curly  locks, 
that  are  seen  here!  Very  rarely  do  we  encounter  here  a  boy 
or  a  young  man  with  a  pale  complexion,  misshapen  features 
and  badly  proportioned  limbs.  With  us  the  contrary  is  really 
something  unusual;  otherwise,  handsome  people  would  not 
be  so  striking." 

The  spirit  of  independence  is  seen  to  advantage  in  the 
English  youth.  Of  this  we  learn  from  Wendeborn:^  "In 
England  the  constitution — as  well  as  the  people — is,  above  all, 
for  freedom.  The  country  boy  feels  it,  and  he  is  told  that  he 
is  free.  A  cringing  respect  for  the  great  and  the  rich  is  not 
instilled  into  children  so  much  as  in  other  countries.  .  .  .  The 

^  England,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  205. 

2  Reisen  .  .  .  in  England,  p.  49. 

3  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  240. 

120 


121 


strictness  is  by  no  means  comparable  with  that  which  is 
found  in  other  countries.  It  is  my  beHef  that  many  EngHsh- 
men  pass  through  the  years  of  childhood  and  youth  without 
ever  receiving  blows."  From  the  same  source  we  have  an 
enthusiastic  eulogy  of  the  young  Englishman:^  "I  have  on 
majiy  occasions  made  the  observation  that  a  young  English- 
man, regardless  of  his  apparent  wildness  and  rusticity,  when 
he  approaches  his  twenty-fifth  year,  becomes  more  restrained 
[sittsamer]  and  knows  how  to  demean  himself  with  a  frankness 
and  good  grace  for  which  we  often  search  in  vain  among  young 
men  of  other  nationalities.  He  usually  holds  to  a  happy 
medium  between  the  affected  frankness  and  the  empty  polite- 
ness of  the  French,  and  between  the  carefully  studied  bearing 
and  the  awkwardness  which  many  Germans — even  those  who 
consider  themselves  people  of  culture — betray  in  their  inter- 
course." Not  less  admirable  does  the  youth  appear  to  Kiitt- 
ner:^  "Generally  speaking  the  English  boy  possesses  in  a 
high  degree  good-nature,  a  sense  of  fairness  and  love  of 
justice,  and  he  acquires  in  the  English  schools,  above  all  else, 
those  social  virtues  which  have  most  influence  on  every-day 
life  and  the  absence  of  which  is  the  cause  of  the  greatest  part 
of  human  misery.  .  .  .  The  strictness  with  which  the  laws 
are  enforced,  especially  in  the  public  schools,  accustoms  him, 
in  the  course  of  time,  with  all  his  love  of  freedom,  to  a  punc- 
tilious observance  of  the  laws."  And  especially  generous  is 
the  tribute  of  one  Hiittner  to  the  younger  sons  who  left  home, 
often  as  early  as  their  eleventh  year,  to  go  to  sea:^  "It  is 
astonishing  how  different  the  English  boy  is  here  from  those 
of  other  nations;  he  is  not  in  the  least  embarrassed  or  home- 
sick, and  it  is  very  seldom  that  he  becomes  puffed  up  over 
this  independence.  With  a  hearty  good-bye  he  shakes  the 
hands  of  the  friends  he  is  leaving  and  is  as  happy  on  the  un- 
familiar element  as  in  the  cultured  home  of  his  father,  sur- 
rounded by  all  that  makes  life  attractive." 

1  ibid.,  p.  243. 

^  Beitrdge  .  .  .  von  England.    N.  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  XXIV  (1796),  pt.  i,  p.  145. 
^  Der  Neue  teutsche  Merkur.    July,  1797,  p.  222.    (From  an  essay,  "Ein 
Paar  Ziige  zum  Gemahlde  des  brittischen  Seemans,"  pp.  219-237.) 


122 


Thoroughly  compatible  was  the  character  of  the  young 
Englishman  with  the  demands  of  the  Storm  and  Stress 
dramatists.  To  the  Englishmen  in  their  plays  they  give  a 
full  measure  of  the  "apparent  wildness"  to  which  Wendeborn 
refers,  and  an  even  more  fiery  nature  than  the  average  youth 
of  their  creation  possessed.  A  striking  example  is  Robert 
Hot,  the  hero  of  Lenz*  Der  Engldnder,  who  reveals  something 
of  his  vehemence  at  the  very  out-break  of  the  play:  "Ah!  what 
would  one  not  do  for  you,  Armida?  It  is  cold.  Yet  an  eternal 
fire  is  burning  in  this  breast.  I  glow  as  if  before  a  smelting 
furnace,  when  I  raise  my  eyes  to  that  red  curtain.  There 
she  sleeps,  there  she  is  slumbering  right  now,  it  may  be.  Oh! 
to  be  the  pillow  that  cradles  her  cheek!"  Not  without 
significance  is  the  fact  that  the  play  which  gave  its  name  to 
this  entire  movement  in  German  literature,  while  its  scene 
is  in  America,  is  peopled  with  Englishmen,  and  all  of  them, 
even  to  the  sexagenarians,  Berkley  and  Bushy,  are  con- 
stantly at  fever-heat.  None  of  the  others,  however,  quite 
come  up  to  the  temperature  of  La  Feu,  who,  despite  his  name, 
is  a  native  Londoner:^  "I  am  in  love  again  throughout  my 
whole  body,  in  my  veins  and  bones,  in  my  entire  soul.  I  am 
so  hot  I  fear  I  may  blow  up  like  a  bomb — and  then  if  my  pure 
being  might  only  be  elevated  and  lodge  itself  in  the  charming 
lady's  bosom!" 

Of  such  high-spirited  youths  it  is  to  be  expected  that  they 
should  be  good  soldiers,  and  such  was  the  case,  as  all  German 
writers  attested.  The  most  essential  quality  of  a  good  soldier, 
fearlessness  of  death,  the  Englishman  was  said  to  possess  in 
a  high  degree.  "Vor  dem  Tod  zittert  der  Englander  nicht," 
says  Buschel;^  and  similar  was  the  testimony  of  many  Ger- 
mans both  before  and  after  his  time.  Pollnitz,  for  instance, 
writes:^  "Here  wounds  go  for  nothing,  and  death  itself  is 
but  little  dreaded.  I  fancy  the  English  are  descended  from 
Mutius  Scaevola,  because  like  that  Roman  they  despise  pain. " 
Likewise,  Wendeborn:^   "Courage  is  also  a  characteristic  of 

^  Klinger,    Sturm  und  Drang,  Act  III,  Scene  i. 
^Neue  Reisen,  etc.,  p.74. 
^Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  303. 
^  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  275. 


123 


the  English,  but  this  they  possess  in  common  with  other 
peoples.  Yet  it  is  probably  safe  to  assert  that  they  suprass 
others  in  that  they  have  the  least  fear  of  death.  Of  this  the 
battles  and  naval  combats  of  the  English  are  sufficient  proof." 

While  the  Englishman  was  invariably  pronounced  a  good 
soldier,  he  was  said  to  require  more  urgently  than  the  soldier 
of  other  nations  good  food  and  favorable  living  conditions. 
"The  English  are  good  soldiers,  especially  when  well  provided 
for  and  soon  brought  to  action,"  writes  Busching,^  the  geog- 
rapher. And  likewise  from  AchenwalP  we  hear  that  "the 
Englishman  serves  equally  well  as  cavalryman  and  as  infantry- 
man, but  he  insists  on  being  well  paid  and  well  fed." 

By  Volkmann  and  Wendeborn  we  are  told  what  to  expect 
should  the  English  find  themselves  lined  up  against  the 
Prussians.  "Their  soldiers,"  according  to  Volkmann,^  "are 
in  the  first  attack  fiery  and  brave,  especially  when  they  have 
good  fare;  but  the  free  Englishman  can  not  be  forced  to  take 
orders,  so  it  is  not  likely  that  they  could  hold  out  in  the  long 
run  against  a  Prussian  army."  Similar  was  the  view  of 
Wendeborn:"*  "Of  the  English  troops  it  may  be  said  in  general 
that  they  are  courageous  and  are  good  soldiers,  especially 
when  they  have  good  food  and  drink.  .  .  .  From  what  I 
saw  there  [at  a  review  of  English  troops]  and  have  seen  in 
Prussia,  I  am  inclined  to  conclude  that  a  number  of  English 
troops  would  not  hold  out  long  against  an  equal  number  of 
Prussians,  although  the  English  in  their  national  pride  con- 
sider their  troops  the  best  in  the  world." 

The  British  Navy  could  not  fail  to  arouse  general  admira- 
tion even  in  the  eighteenth  century.  To  Volkmann^  "the 
brave  deeds  of  the  English  at  sea  are  proofs  of  their  courage, 
of  their  valor  and  of  their  contempt  of  death."  Though 
prompted  by  no  rivalry  between  Germany  and  England, 
Busching  takes  the  pains  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  century 

^  Busching,  A.  F.  Neue  Erdbeschreibung.  Hamburg,  1 769-1 773.  Part  II, 
Vol.  II,  p.  1297. 

2  Staatsverfassung,  etc.    Pt.  I,  p.  358. 
^  Neueste  Reisen,  etc.    Vol.  i,  p.  86. 
*  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  86. 
^  Neueste  Reisen,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  31. 


124 


to  present  a  definite  estimate  of  the  sea-strength  of  the  British  :^ 
"The  EngHsh  Navy  was  scarce  ever  in  a  better  condition 
than  at  present,  insomuch  that  no  state  in  Europe  has  any- 
thing Hke  it.  The  reader  must  necessarily  be  astonished  to 
find  that  in  the  year  1 748  the  naval  strength  of  Great  Britain 
consisted  of  two  hundred  and  forty-five  men  of  war  from  the 
first  to  the  sixth  rates,  or  from  one  hundred  to  twenty-four 
guns,  fifty-five  sloops  of  war,  nine  bomb- vessels,  five  fire- 
ships  and  seven  yachts."  That  English  sailors  excelled  those 
of  other  nations  was  the  belief  of  Wendeborn,^  and  this  he 
held  to  be  due  to  their  obedience,  a  virtue  which,  as  we  have 
just  seen,  Volkmann  denied  the  free  Englishman "Whenever 
I  have  been  on  German,  Dutch  or  English  ships,  I  have 
observed  the  visible  effects  of  education  even  upon  seamen. 
If  the  English  sailor  is  ordered  by  the  captain  to  climb  the 
mast,  the  captain  has  scarcely  ceased  speaking  before  the  sailor 
has  thrown  his  hat  and  wig — if  he  is  wearing  them — on  the  deck 
and  is  already  half  way  up  the  mast;  the  German  or  the  Dutch- 
man, on  the  other  hand,  first  takes  a  good  while  to  fasten  his 
hat  or  cap  securely  on  his  head,  to  button  up  his  jacket  and 
to  measure  the  height  of  the  mast  a  few  times  with  his 
eyes." 

No  German  who  wrote  of  the  English  sailor  could  have 
known  him  better  than  did  Hiittner,  since  he  was  himself 
three  years  in  the  British  Navy.  He  maintains  that^  "if  the 
Britisher  is  really  what  he  himself  believes  he  is  in  Europe — 
and  what  we  other  nations  so  often  scornfully  deny — his 
sailor  is  particularly  worthy  of  our  attention."  This  writer 
goes  on  to  praise  the  manliness  of  the  youthful  Britisher  who 
gave  up  all  the  comforts  of  a  luxurious  home  to  go  to  sea, 
where  he  was  subjected  to  the  severest  discipline  and  suffered 
without  complaint  every  kind  of  hardship.  This  trying  life, 
while  it  was  not  always  beneficial  to  his  morals,  instilled  into 

1  Neue  Erdheschreihung.  Part  II,  Vol.  II,  p.  1297  (The  passage  quoted  is 
from  the  anonymous  translation  of  an  earlier  edition  than  the  one  referred  to 
above,  A  New  System  of  Geography.    6  Vols.    London,  1762.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  251). 

^  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  IV,  p.  194  (footnote). 

^  Der  Neue  ieuische  Merkur.    July,  1797,  p.  220. 


125 


him  above  all  the  greatest  pride  in  personal  bravery  and  the 
most  profound  reverence  for  the  traditions  of  the  navy.^ 

To  the  English  nobility  Georg  Forster  refers^  as  ''the 
nobility  of  the  first  land  in  the  world,  a  nobility  to  which  merit 
invariably  paves  the  way."  Public  spirit  and  generosity 
were  commoner  virtues  among  British  noblemen  than  among 
those  of  other  countries,  and  they  were  honored  especially 
for  the  patronage  they  gave  to  the  arts  and  sciences  and  for 
their  philanthropy.  Furthermore,  as  Wendeborn  reminds  us, 
they  could  count  among  their  own  number  many  men  of 
sound  and  lasting  intellectual  attainments:^  "It  is  no  little 
honor  to  the  English  nobility  that  so  many  among  them  have 
distinguished  themselves  as  scholars,  as  authors,  as  patrons 
of  the  muses.  The  names  of  a  Lord  Bacon,  Shaftesbury, 
Bolingbroke,  Burlington,  Pembroke,  Orerry,  Littleton,  Pom- 
fret,  Chesterfield  and  of  many  others  are  familiar  enough  in 
the  realm  of  the  arts  and  sciences."  ^  But  this  writer,  follow- 
ing the  universal  tendency  to  hark  back  to  the  good  old  days, 
felt  obliged  to  add  that  in  his  own  time  England  could  boast 
of  no  such  illustrious  names,  for  the  nobility  had  become  more 
absorbed  ''in  dressing  fantastically  and  in  attending  shows, 
mummeries,  chases,  horse-races  and  similar  amusements." 

As  to  the  pride  of  the  nobility  Wendeborn  likewise  has  some 

^  A  certain  custom,  on  account  of  its  inconsistency  with  British  ways  in 
general,  was  quiet  incomprehensible  to  the  German;  namely,  the  empressment 
of  seamen.  Wendeborn  is  one  of  many  who  discuss  it:  "A  group  of  ten  or 
more  sailors  known  as  a  press-gang ,  armed  with  large  clubs  and  hunting  knives 
go,  under  the  leadership  of  an  officer,  through  the  streets  and  often  into  taverns 
and  disorderly  houses  and,  without  more  ado,  seize  those  whom  they  consider 
fit  to  become  sailors.  ...  I  know  of  no  way  in  which  this  empressment  of 
seamen  is  to  be  reconciled  with  the  boasted  freedom  of  the  English."  {Zustand, 
etc.  Vol.  I,  p.  91.)  Johann  Peter  Hebel  makes  this  the  motif  of  a  short  story, 
Merkwiirdige  Schicksale  eines  jungen  Engldnders''  (Bibliothek  der  deutschen 
Klassiker,  Vol.  X,  p.  678,  ff.). 
^  Ansichten,  etc.,  p.  369, 

3  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  35. 

4  A  half  century  later  Friedrich  Raumer  writes:  "The  significance  of  the 
English  aristocracy  appears  in  a  very  different  light  when  I  see  the  halls  adorned 
with  Raphael's  and  Titian's  masterpieces  rather  than  with  receipts  for  interest 
paid  on  mortgages."    {England.    3  Vols.    Leipzig,  1842.    Vol.  11,  p.  156.) 


126 


interesting  observations "Among  the  English  nobility  pride 
is  encountered  again  and  again,  but  far  less  than  abroad  among 
people  of  similar  rank.  .  .  .  Abroad,  those  of  the  nobility 
who  are  attached  to  courts  are  outwardly  more  affable,  more 
polite  and  more  disposed  to  unconstrained  intercourse  than 
those  who  pass  their  life  remote  from  large  cities.  Here  in 
England  it  seems  to  be  the  reverse.  The  majority  of  those 
who  have  to  do  with  the  court  and  of  those  who  belong  to  the 
party  which  happens  to  be  at  the  helm  of  the  government  are 
proud  and  often  as  haughty  as  any  little  local  tyrants  in  other 
countries  can  be;  on  the  other  hand,  the  noblemen  and 
aristocrats  who  have  not  much  to  do  with  the  court  and  do 
not  often  come  into  contact  with  it,  are  sociable,  affable  and 
polite  and  seem  to  forget  in  their  intercourse  with  those  who 
are  lower  in  the  social  scale,  that  their  own  birth  has  placed 
them  in  a  higher  position."  The  natural  deduction  from  all 
this  is  that  the  eighteenth  century  Englishman,  when  left  to 
himself,  was  more  democratic  than  the  average  European. 

So  advantageous  did  certain  features  of  the  English  system 
of  nobility  appear  to  Justus  Moser  that  he  wished  to  see  them 
introduced  in  his  own  country.  In  his  essay,  Warum  hildet 
sich  der  deutsche  Adel  nicht  nach  dem  Englischen,^  he  com- 
mended these  features  to  his  fellow-countrymen.  In  the  status 
of  the  younger  sons  of  noble  parentage  he  saw  the  chief  point 
of  superiority  in  the  English  system.  Such  young  Englishmen 
were  at  liberty  to  follow  any  pursuit  whatever,  since  they 
belonged  only  potentially  to  the  nobility,  but  were  in  reality 
of  the  gentry;  whereas  in  Germany  each  son  was  a  nobleman 
and  was  required  to  maintain  the  traditions  of  the  nobility. 
The  proposed  plan  is  summed  up  in  two  points:^  (a)  "The 
nobility  and  in  general  all  servants  of  the  crown  are  in  no 
event  to  engage  in  trade  or  business,  (b)  But  those  [merely] 
of  noble  birth  may  do  so  without  compromising  their  right  of 
succession  to  a  noble  title  [Adelsfahigkeit].  And  so  we  would 
be  on  the  very  road  which  the  English  have  made  their  high- 

^  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  36. 

2  Patriotische  Phantasien,  Sdmmtliche  Werke.  Berlin,  1842-43.  Pt.  IV, 
pp.  236-247. 

3  ibid.,  p.  241. 


127 


way.  One  does  not  lose  his  Adelsfdhigkeit  there  by  seeking 
to  earn  his  bread  in  any  honorable  way;  one  chooses  this, 
another,  that  course;  and  it  is  by  no  means  unusual  to  find 
the  eldest  brother  in  the  upper  house,  the  second  in  the  lower 
house  and  the  third  in  the  stock-exchange.  He  who  does  not 
actually  hold  a  noble  title  [Kronwiirde]  is  deprived  of  all  the 
privileges  of  nobility;  he  ranks  no  higher  than  another,  but 
is  honored  simply  as  a  man  who  may,  either  by  heredity  or  by 
royal  appointment,  attain  to  a  title  of  nobility."  ^ 

One  German  tourist  who  had  no  praise  for  the  English 
nobility  was  Riem.^  He  characterized  them  as  lazy,  indolent, 
haughty  and  thievish  and  was  of  the  opinion  that  princes 
would  be  fully  justified  in  having  the  "low,  slavish  rabble  of 
nobility  which  creeps  around  their  throne  like  poisonous 
vermin  and  soils  the  glory  of  the  most  splendid  crown,  driven 
by  bailiffs  and  catchpolls  to  all  the  devils."  But  this  is  a 
tirade  against  noblemen  in  general  rather  than  against  the 
English  exclusively.  Nor  did  Jean  Paul  exclude  other  na- 
tionalities from  a  share  in  the  qualities  he  suggested  as  char- 
acterizing the  English  lord  in  his  Hesperus:^  ''He  regards 
mankind  as  an  apparatus  for  experiments,  as  so  much  hunting- 
gear,  war-material,  knitting-work:  such  men  look  upon  heaven 
only  as  the  keyboard  to  earth  and  the  soul  as  orderly-sergeant 
of  the  body;  they  carry  on  wars,  not  for  the  sake  of  winning 
crowns  of  oak-leaves,  but  to  secure  the  oak  soil  and  the  acorns; 
they  prefer  the  successful  man  to  the  deserving  one;  they 
break  oaths  and  hearts  to  serve  the  state;   they  respect 

^  But  even  in  England  the  problem  of  the  younger  sons  was  serious  enough, 
if  we  may  rely  on  the  inexhaustible  Wendeborn:  "For  money  and  positions 
they  will  do  anything,  and  their  dependence  on  the  government  always  makes 
of  them  dangerous  enemies  of  the  freedom  of  the  people.  He  who  has  received 
an  education  (as  the  unhappy  phrase  goes)  conformable  to  his  rank,  he  who  has 
been  accustomed  from  his  youth  up  to  all  fashionable  follies  and  excesses,  will 
consequently,  in  order  to  live  in  conformity  with  his  rank,  do  anything  to  obtain 
money  and  to  continue  his  life  in  idleness  and  sensuality."  (Zustand,  etc. 
Vol.  I.  p.  43-) 

2  A.  L.  Z.  i8oo.    Vol.  IV,  No.  300,  section  162. 

^  Jean  Paul's  Sammtliche  Werke.    34  Vols.    Berlin,  1861.    Vol.  V,  pt.  i, 
p.  206.    The  translation  is  that  of  Charles  Q.  Brooks:   Hesperus.    2  Vols. 
Boston,  1865.    Vol.  I,  p.  235. 
10 


128 


poetry,  philosophy  and  religion  but  as  means;  they  respect 
riches,  statistics  of  national  prosperity  and  health  but  as 
objects;  all  they  honor  about  pure  Mathesis  and  pure  female 
virtue  is  the  transformation  of  each  into  impure  for  manu- 
factures and  armies;  in  the  higher  astronomy  all  they  care 
for  is  the  transformation  of  sums  into  odometers  and  way- 
marks  for  pepper-fleets,  and  in  the  most  exalted  magister 
legens  they  seek  only  an  alluring  tavern  sign  for  poor  uni- 
versities." 

As  the  democracy  of  the  English  prevented  the  nobleman 
from  losing  touch  with  the  people,  it  likewise  elevated  the 
commoner  to  a  higher  level  than  that  on  which  he  stood  in 
other  countries,  so  that  the  continental  visitor  was  struck  with 
the  absence  of  the  sharp  class  distinctions  to  which  he  had 
been  accustomed.  "In  England,"  writes  Goede,^  ''the  ideal 
of  the  gentleman  is  common  to  all  classes.  No  occupation,  no 
trade  ostracizes  a  man,  alters  his  social  status,  or  deprives 
him  of  recognition."  Archenholz  calls  attention  to  the  effects 
of  political  liberty  on  the  lower  classes:^  "It  is  not  according 
to  our  ideas  that  we  ought  to  calculate  the  space  that  separates 
the  different  classes  of  men  in  that  monarchico-republican 
government.  This  observation  extends  even  to  servants. 
The  first  man  in  the  kingdom  is  cautious  of  striking  his  domes- 
tics; for  they  may  not  only  defend  themselves  against  him, 
but  also  commence  an  action  in  a  court  of  justice.  .  .  .  Those 
will  be  much  deceived  who  may  from  thence  imagine  that  an 
English  footman  will  consequently  be  impertinent.  On  the 
contrary,  I  am  convinced  that  no  part  of  Europe  abounds  with 
better  domestics."  ^    This  writer  would  have  us  believe  that 

^England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  271. 
^Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  116. 

3  A  striking  contradiction  of  this  statement  is  presented  by  Weisse  in  his 
Freundschaft  auf  der  Probe.  The  play  is  an  adaptation  of  Marmontel's  L'amiiie 
a  I'epreuve  (Oeuvres  completes.  Paris,  1818.  Vol.  IV.  Contes  Moraux.  pp. 
145-195),  and  the  only  character  in  Weisse's  play  who  does  not  figure  in  the 
original  story — nor  does  he  appear  in  the  English  version,  Hugh  Kelly's  Romance 
of  an  Hour  (London,  1774) — is  Woodbe;  this  servant  may  be  taken,  accordingly, 
to  represent  truly  a  German  conception  of  his  class.  His  impertinence  knows 
no  bounds;  he  does  not  hesitate  to  press  his  suit  for  Corally's  hand  as  the  rival 


129 


the  intelligence  of  the  English,  of  which  we  have  already  heard 
much,  was  shared  even  by  the  lowest  classes;^  "It  has  been 
observed  that  the  common  people  in  England  are  more  intelli- 
gent and  judicious  than  in  any  other  country.  The  free  and 
unrestricted  manner  in  which  they  speak  and  write  on  every 
subject  is  the  real  cause  of  this.  One  is  astonished  to  hear 
some  of  the  very  lowest  of  the  populace  reason  concerning  the 
laws,  the  right  of  property,  privileges,  etc."  Another  to 
touch  on  this  point  is  Goede:^  "Common  craftsmen  as  a 
class  not  only  appear  more  prosperous  in  England  than  in 
other  countries,  but  also  betray  in  their  whole  exterior  a  far 
higher  degree  of  culture.  How  refined  is  the  speech  of  the 
English  craftsmen!  How  eminently  respectable  do  they  ap- 
pear in  their  domestic  life!  Particularly  apparent  is  their 
culture  in  their  relations  with  dependents.  Every  foreigner 
who  has  an  opportunity  to  see  how  politely  the  masters  treat 
their  apprentices  and  workmen,  will  have  to  confess  that  this 
relationship  could  not  be  more  dignified."  Yet  this  tourist 
did  not  overlook  the  fact  that  there  was  an  element  of  the 
people  which  did  not  share  the  virtues  common  to  the  nation 
as  a  whole :3  "It  is  certainly  not  to  be  denied  that  patriotism 
and  public  spirit  find  unmistakable  expression  even  in  the 
poorest  class  of  respectable  citizens;  but  among  the  English 
populace,  the  dregs  of  the  nation,  not  the  slightest  trace  of 
such  qualities  is  to  be  perceived.  This  wild  horde  of  bar- 
barians has  no  native  land ;  they  are  blind  to  the  privileges  of 
English  citizenship." 

Of  the  leveling  effects  of  democracy  we  hear  from  Wende- 
born:^  "Here  the  common  man  thinks  about  a  great  many 
things  pertaining  to  social  duties,  justice  and  other  things 

of  Lord  Nelson.  At  one  time  he  interrupts  a  tete-a-tite  between  Corally  and 
Lord  Nelson  and  says  to  the  latter:  "I  beg  your  pardon.  I  had  forgotten  for 
the  moment  that  you  still  represented  the  master  of  the  house."  (Act  I, 
scene  6).  But  Woodbe  was  encouraged  in  his  insolence  by  his  master,  Bland- 
ford,  who  says  to  him:  "Out  with  it!  You  know  that  I  like  for  my  servants 
to  be  frank."    (Act  II,  scene  6.) 

1  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  I,  p.  6o. 

2  England,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  344. 

3  ibid.,  p.  365. 

*  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  287. 


130 


that  influence  the  happiness  of  life  just  as  clearly  as  the  scholar 
and  the  man  who  considers  himself  a  philosopher  in  other 
countries.  Hence  the  prejudice  of  rank  has  little  weight  here. 
.  .  .  Hence  people  who  think  that  their  honor  is  injured,  or 
that  they  are  not  paid  sufficient  respect,  are  not  heard,  as  in 
many  other  countries,  to  exclaim:  Such  an  aristocratic, 
wealthy  man  as  I !  Such  a  noble,  honorable  or  wise  gentleman! 
No,  the  most  aristocratic  Englishman  knows  that  his  fellow- 
countrymen  are,  like  himself,  free,  that  they  have  human 
intelligence  and  that  they  think;  hence  an  English  general 
who  returns  home  at  the  end  of  a  successful  campaign  is 
quite  as  unassuming  as  before;  hence  a  Lord  Clive,  who  saw 
Moguls  and  Nabobs  humble  themselves  before  him  and  who 
in  the  Orient  was  a  despot,  was  in  England  nothing  more  than 
another  Englishman;  and  he  before  whom  India  bowed,  saw 
himself  compelled  to  humble  himself  before  his  fellow-citizens, 
for  he  knew  very  well  that  they  did  not  think  as  East  Indians." 

The  impression  made  on  foreign  visitors  by  English  extrava- 
gance was  discussed  in  connection  with  a  consideration  of  eco- 
nomic conditions  in  England. ^  Especially  striking  to  Schiitz 
was  the  lack  of  concern  on  the  part  of  the  laboring  class  for  the 
future "Nowhere  [else]  does  the  common  man  know  so  little 
about  economy  as  in  England.  The  seamen,  for  instance,  who 
sail  on  the  Thames  receive  good  wages  and,  to  judge  from  their 
appearance,  are  prosperous  people,  yet  most  of  them  beg  when 
the  Thames  is  frozen  over.  In  Germany  the  common  man 
is  distinguished  from  the  aristocrat  by  his  means  of  sub- 
sistence, but  in  England  there  is  no  difference  with  respect 
to  bread,  other  provisions  or  even  amusements.  The  seaman 
on  the  Thames  wears  just  as  fine  clothing  and  just  as  fine  linen 
as  the  peer  of  the  kingdom.  So  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  com- 
mon man  must  suffer  want  when  his  income  stops."  Anyone 
accustomed  all  his  life  to  the  thriftiness  of  the  German  people 
could  not  have  failed  to  note  the  relative  lack  of  this  virtue 
when  he  visited  England,  but  that  even  there  examples  of  the 
utmost  frugality  and  the  most  careful  economy  might  be 

^  See  above,  p.  28,  ff. 

2  N.  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  V  (1793).  Pt.  I.  p.  279. 


131 


found  was  the  experience  of  Georg  Forster  on  his  travels 
through  Gloucestershire "A  woman  of  this  region  who  was 
traveling  with  us,  pointed  out  to  us  several  farmers  of  her 
acquaintance  who  live  by  the  roadside  and  who  have  a  yearly 
income  of  four  or  five  hundred  pounds  sterling.  But  they 
wear  very  rustic  clothing,  tend  their  cattle  and  feed  it;  their 
wives  and  daughters  milk  and  make  cheese.  Many  farms  in 
this  region  have  seventy  or  more  cows,  and  in  a  family  of  ten 
children  only  one  maid  is  kept.  The  residences  of  the  country 
people  in  this  province  have  a  mean,  neglected  appearance 
and  are  by  no  means  in  keeping  with  their  wealth." 

When  the  German  tourist  undertook  to  record  his  impression 
of  the  English  woman,  he  was  seldom  at  a  loss  for  something 
to  say.  Her  reputation  for  beauty  seems  to  have  been  well 
known  in  Germany,  and  almost  without  exception  her  charms 
were  found  to  exceed  the  visitor's  highest  expectations. 
Berckenmeyer  does  not  altogether  overlook  the  fair  sex  in 
his  Curieuser  Antiquarius;  already  he  saw  the  beginnings  of 
woman  suffrage "In  England  the  woman  loves  freedom  to 
such  an  extent  that  she  often  contests  with  men  for  rule. 
And  the  over-great  adoration  which  they  enjoy  on  account 
of  their  beauty,  has  given  rise  to  the  proverb,  'England  is 
woman's  paradise.'  .  .  .  On  this  account  the  Italians  are 
accustomed  to  say:  'If  there  were  a  bridge  across  the  English 
Channel,  all  the  women  of  Europe  would  run  over.'"  On  the 
authority  of  Pollnitz  we  have  it  that  a  great  many  Englishmen 
"hang  themselves  purely  for  love.  I  own  to  you,"  he  con- 
fesses,^ "that  if  I  were  so  forsaken  by  God  as  to  commit  such 
a  foolish  prank,  it  should  be  for  an  English  woman.  They 
have  in  my  opinion  such  an  air  of  modesty  and  good-nature 
and  withal  such  a  bashful  simplicity  as  charm  me,  and  such 
tender,  languishing  eyes,  too,  as  tho'  not  universally  pleasing, 
yet  captivate  me  to  such  a  degree  that  if  I  was  but  twenty 
years  of  age,  I  should  have  gone  much  astray.  Most  of  the 
English  women  are  handsome;  they  have  the  finest  hair  in 

1  Ansichten,  etc.,  p.  394. 

2  p.  210. 

3  Memoirs.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  293. 


132 


the  world  and  are  only  obliged  to  pure  nature  for  the  beauty 
of  their  complexions.  .  .  .  They  say  that  among  the  good 
qualities  of  the  women  here,  they  are  equally  susceptible 
themselves  of  the  passion  of  love,  which  they  are  so  apt  to 
kindle  in  the  men.  This  is  very  good  and  perfectly  natural; 
for  in  my  opinion  nothing  is  so  ill  becoming  to  the  fair  sex 
as  hard-heartedness." 

No  German  writer  seems  to  have  been  more  susceptible 
to  the  charms  of  the  English  woman  than  was  Lichtenberg. 
Upon  his  arrival  in  England  two  things,  above  all,  attracted 
his  attention :i  "The  swiftness,  readiness  and  accuracy  with 
which  everything  desired  is  done;  and  the  large  number  of 
pretty  girls.  Even  the  most  ordinary  of  them  are  so  pretty 
that  anyone  who  can  not  fully  trust  himself  on  this  score 
must  stay  away  from  England.  They  know  how  to  enhance 
their  beauty  by  their  dress;  in  such  attire  the  most  ordinary 
German  servant-girl  would  appear  pretty."  ^  In  a  letter  to 
his  friend,  Johann  Christian  Dietrich,  Lichtenberg  is  still 
more  outspoken  in  his  praise:^  "As  soon  as  he  sets  foot  on 
English  soil  (provided,  of  course,  that  he  has  something  more 
than  feet)  the  student,  as  well  as  the  philosopher  and  the 
book-dealer,  is  immediately  struck  by  the  extraordinary  beauty 
of  the  women,  and  this  impression  becomes  gradually  stronger 
the  nearer  he  gets  to  London.  For  the  man  who  is  not  quite 
sure  of  this  side  of  his  nature,  I  know  but  a  single  course; 
Let  him  take  the  next  packet-boat  back  to  Holland;  there  he 
will  be  out  of  danger.  I  have  seen  a  great  many  beautiful 
women  in  my  day,  but  since  I  have  been  in  England  I  have 
seen  more  than  in  all  the  rest  of  my  life  together,  yet  I  have 
been  in  England  only  ten  days."  That  he  was  far  from 
complimentary  to  the  women  of  his  own  country  Lichtenberg 
was  somewhat  painfully  aware;  he  lays  upon  his  friend  the 
following  injunction:   "Meanwhile,  I  forbid  your  inserting 

1  Bruchstiicke  aus  dem  Tagebuch,  etc.    Vcrmischte  Schriften.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  273. 

2  With  this  opinion  Pollnitz  did  not  concur:  "They  are  commonly  very 
richly  dressed,  but  not  altogether  in  the  taste  of  the  French  ladies,  which  is  the 
onlyvfault  I  find  with  'em.  They  seem  to  affect  dressing  to  their  disadvantage." 
{Memoirs,  etc.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  293.) 

^  Brief e.    Vol.  I,  p.  ii — London,  April  19,  1770. 


133 


this  report  on  English  women  in  the  Gothaischer  Calendar ,  not 
on  my  account,  but  on  account  of  German  women.  The 
ladies  of  Lima  may  be  praised  to  them  quite  freely,  but  the 
English  woman  is  somewhat  too  near  to  them.  We  read  in 
history  that  the  Saxons  once  invaded  England  in  great  num- 
bers. Very  profound  political  causes  have  been  given  by  way 
of  explanation,  but  this  is  quite  unnecessary;  the  good  Saxons 
were  running  away  from  their  wives.  But  not  a  word  of  my 
description  in  the  Calendar! ' ' 

Not  less  ardent  was  the  enthusiasm  of  Archenholz:^  "Of 
all  the  remarkable  objects  which  England  offers  to  the  eye  of 
a  foreigner,  no  one  is  more  worthy  of  his  admiration  than  the 
astonishing  beauty  of  the  women.  It  produces  such  a  sur- 
prising effect  that  every  stranger  must  acknowledge  the 
superiority  of  the  English  ladies  over  all  others.  The  most 
exact  proportions,  an  elegant  figure,  a  lovely  neck,  a  skin 
uncommonly  fine  and  features  at  once  regular  and  charming 
distinguish  them  in  an  eminent  degree."  Especially  charming 
did  English  women  appear  to  Biischel  when  they  indulged  in 
one  of  their  chief  amusements,  riding  on  horse-back ''With 
an  indescribable  grace  they  ride  horse-back.  Every  one  who 
has  a  sense  and  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  will  be  ready  to 
agree  with  me  that  his  heart  leaps  with  joy  whenever  he  sees 
a  beautiful  Englishwoman  in  her  riding  habit,  with  high, 
waving  plumes  on  her  hat,  riding  by  as  lightly  and  carelessly 
as  if  she  had  never  done  anything  else." 

It  was  Wendeborn's  opinion  that  the  women  of  England 
well  deserved  the  reputation  of  being  more  beautiful  than 
those  of  any  other  country.  ^  Nor  was  this  all  he  could  say 
on  their  behalf:^  "I  must  say  to  the  credit  of  the  English 
women  in  general  that  they  are  good  mothers,  that  most  of 
them  love  cleanliness,  that  they  have  a  compassionate  heart 
and  that  they  have  by  no  means  either  the  affectation  or  the 
stiffness  of  bearing  that  we  meet  with  so  frequently  elsewhere. 

1  Picture  of  England.    Vol.  II,  p.  132. 

2  Neue  Reisen,  etc.,  p.  42. 

^  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  304. 
*  ibid.,  p.  306. 


134 


They  are  more  natural,  and,  accordingly,  more  pleasing  and 
captivating." 

But  we  are  not  to  believe  that  the  foreigner  was  altogether 
blind  to  the  Englishwoman's  faults.^  Even  Berckenmeyer 
has  some  rather  harsh  criticism "In  two  respects  English 
women  openly  violate  good  form;  first,  they  go  driving  and 
to  wine-taverns  with  men  whom  they  scarcely  know;  secondly, 
they  smoke  tobacco."  Nor  was  Hassel,  who  wrote  toward  the 
end  of  the  century,  altogether  complimentary "Women  play 
the  leading  roles  at  the  faro-tables,  ride  like  postillions  and 
go  driving  with  four  horses  and  long  whips."  And  we  even 
find  one  German  who  was  unwilling  to  acknowledge  that 
English  women  surpassed  all  others  in  beauty — but  he  wrote 
anonymously:^  I  can  not  see  in  them  the  great  and  universal 
beauty  of  which  other  tourists  have  so  much  to  say.  In 
comparison  with  the  women  of  Italy  how  different  they  are 
in  figure  and  coloring;  and  with  those  of  France,  in  pleasant, 
natural  bearing  and  in  dress. — But  there  is  here  a  certain 
type  of  beauty,"  even  this  dissenter  admits,  ''which  I  have 
found  nowhere  else;  one  sees  many  girls  with  a  very  fair 
complexion  and  red  hair  which  is  so  brilliant  that  its  beauty 
cannot  be  denied.  Such  were  the  girls,  doubtless,  whom  our 
forefathers  once  honored  as  the  greatest  beauties."  From 
Forster  we  hear  the  following  adverse  criticism  :^  "  Few  people 
are  able  to  assume  dignity  without  giving  themselves  the 
appearance  of  coldness  and  disregard  of  others;  and  her 
dignity  the  English  woman  must  maintain  above  all  things, 
even  at  the  cost  of  falling  into  the  most  intolerable  prudery." 
That  the  average  woman  did  not  attempt  to  measure  up  to 
very  strict  intellectual  requirements  may  be  deduced  from 
what  Kiittner  writes:^  "A  learned  woman  is  so  little  sought 
after  and  esteemed  in  England  that  the  wealthier  and  wiser 

^  See,  for  example,  Wendeborn  (Zustand,  Vol.  II,  pp.  310-313). 

2  Neuvermehrter  Curieuser  Antiquarius,  p.  211. 

3  N.  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  II  (1793).  Pt.  2,  p.  326. 

4  Teutscher  Merkur.  May,  1785,  p.  192  (Letter  from  London,  March  25, 
1785T. 

s  Ansichien,  etc.,  p.  397. 

^  Beitrdge  zur  Kenntnis  .  .  .  von  England.  A.  L.  Z.  1797.  No.  384,  section 
572. 


136 


ladies  of  intellectual  attainments  attempt  to  conceal  their 
knowledge.  If  it  is  said  of  a  woman,  'She  is  a  blue-stocking,' 
half  our  sex  is  frightened  away  from  her." 

One  practice  was  found  to  be  strikingly  out  of  keeping  with 
the  high  position  of  women  in  England;  namely,  that  of  dis- 
posing of  a  wife  who  had  ceased  to  be  a  desirable  member  of 
the  family.  Of  this  practice  Archenholz  cites  numerous  ex- 
amples. In  his  Annalen  we  read:^  "Never  was  the  sale  of 
wives  so  common  as  now.  Scenes  of  this  kind,  formerly  so 
rare,  are  now  becoming  very  common.  On  the  market-place 
at  Oxford  a  workman,  Hawkins,  sold  his  wife  to  a  man  for 
five  shillings;  he  led  her,  as  usual,  by  a  rope  which  he  held  in 
his  hand  until  he  had  pocketed  the  money;  then  he  gave  the 
rope  to  the  new  husband,  wished  him  much  happiness  and 
went  his  way.  A  similar  scene  occurred  in  Essex,  where  a 
man  sold  his  wife  together  with  two  children  for  half  a  crown. 
The  ceremony  was  accompanied  by  music,  and  the  mother 
had  to  march  three  times  around  the  market-square  at 
Matching-Green  with  the  rope  around  her  neck." 

Of  the  provincial  Britisher  as  distinguished  from  the  English- 
man proper — that  is,  in  most  cases,  the  Londoner — we  do 
not  learn  a  great  deal  from  eighteenth  century  German  writers. 
They  freely  employ  the  term  der  Brite,  it  is  true,  but  ordinarily 
it  does  not  seem  to  have  with  them  a  different  connotation 
from  that  of  the  term  der  Engldnder.  The  foreigner's  impres- 
sions of  Great  Britain  were  based  largely  on  his  acquaintance 
with  the  life  of  the  capital;  in  fact,  London  seems  to  have 
received  as  much  of  his  attention  as  all  the  rest  of  the  kingdom 
combined.  That  such  a  restriction  of  the  field  of  observation 
did  not  preclude  the  possibility  of  forming  an  accurate  opinion 
of  the  people  is  convincingly  maintained  by  an  anonymous 
writer  in  the  Neues  Gottingisches  Historisches  Magazin:^  "I 
flatly  deny  the  assertion  heard  so  often  in  Germany  that 
London  is  not  the  place  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
customs  and  character  of  the  English.  Anyone  who  becomes 
extensively  acquainted  comes  to  know  people  from  all  counties 

1  Vol.  V,  p.  329. 

2  Vol.  I,  pt.  I,  p.  194  (Letter  from  London,  March  12,  1791). 


136 


of  England  who  live  in  the  city  quite  in  the  same  way  as  they 
lived  previously,  or  as  they  still  live  during  the  summer  in  the 
country.  They  themselves  maintain  that  they  are  even  less 
hampered  in  London  than  on  their  country  estates."  But 
the  tourist  did  not  fail  to  note  a  contrast  between  the  Londoner 
and  the  provincial:^  ''The  farther  we  go  from  London  into 
the  country,  the  purer  we  find  the  air  and  the  customs.  The 
people  become  more  polite,  more  affable  and  more  sociable. 
Wealth  and  extravagance  are  less  in  evidence,  although  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  almost  everywhere,  seem  to  enjoy 
contentment  and  the  fruits  of  a  noble  freedom." 

A  number  of  the  German  Reiseheschreiher  extended  their 
travels  throughout  Great  Britain,  but  when  they  made  a  brief 
tour  of  Scotland,  Ireland  or  Wales,  they  were  more  attentive 
to  the  physical  appearance  of  the  country  than  to  the  pecu- 
liarities of  the  people,  and,  in  fact,  had  little  to  say  about 
either  the  one  or  the  other. ^  When  we  take  up,  for  instance, 
Goede's  substantial  work  on  England,  Wales,  Irland  und 
Schottland  we  very  reasonably  expect  to  learn  what  at  least 
one  German  thought  of  each  of  the  four  British  countries, 
but  we  are  disappointed  to  find  that  the  entire  five  volumes, 
with  the  exception  of  the  last  two  chapters  of  the  fifth,  are 
devoted  exclusively  to  England.  At  length,  in  the  last  chap- 
ter but  two  [Vol.  V,  p.  316]  we  come  to  Wales;  and  we  do 
not  reach  Ireland  until  the  last  page  of  the  book.  Scotland 
is  a  promised  land  to  which  we  are  not  admitted ;  this  country 
appears  in  the  title,  apparently,  only  to  produce  a  balanced 
effect.  On  the  Welsh,  however,  Goede  presents  some  inter- 
esting comments:^  "If  he  [the  tourist  in  Wales]  expected 
simply  to  go  into  another  province  of  the  same  country,  he  is 
astonished  to  find  himself  among  a  foreign  people  which 
appears  in  language,  physical  characteristics,  customs  and 
manners  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  English.    This  is  true, 

^  Wendeborn:  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  II,  p.  237. 

2  This  complaint  is  made,  for  instance,  of  Volkmann,  who  is  "very  brief 
and  meager  concerning  Wales,  but,"  his  critic  claims,  "through  no  fault  of  his 
own.  Surprisingly  little  has  been  written  about  this  country,  although  it  is 
much  toured."    N.  A.  d.  B.,  Vol.  II  (i793).  Pt.  2,  p.  611. 

^England,  etc.    Vol.  V,  p.  317. 


137 


however,  only  of  the  lower  and  middle  classes  in  North  Wales.^ 
People  of  rank  and  fortune  in  these  regions  are  said  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  English  by  nothing  save  the  virtue — 
much  rarer  among  the  latter — of  hospitality.  But  it  is  not 
to  be  denied  that  the  common  people  of  North  Wales  in  com- 
parison with  the  English  are  in  a  very  much  lower  state  of 
civilization.  That  spirit  of  profitable  enterprise,  which  finds 
its  chief  delight  in  the  ideal  of  domestic  prosperity,  of  civic 
honor  and  independence  and  which  secures  to  helpless  old 
age  the  enjoyment  of  well-earned  tranquility,  has  not  yet 
penetrated  from  England's  blooming  plains  into  these  moun- 
tains." This  tourist  noted  a  striking  contrast  in  temperament 
between  the  two  sexes ''The  men  of  North  Wales  appear 
rather  lazy  and  phlegmatic  than  active  and  lively;  the  women, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  very  animated  and  talkative." 

Wendeborn  found  British  credulity  somewhat  intensified 
among  the  Welsh  :^  ''  I  have  seen  many  a  Welshman,  or  native 
of  Wales,  who  became  quite  indignant,  if  it  were  doubted 
that  in  his  native  country  there  could  be  seen  at  night  funeral 
processions  starting  out  in  regular  formation  from  the  house 
in  which  someone  was  to  die  a  few  days  later."  Another 
quality  which,  in  the  opinion  of  Kiittner,*  the  Welsh  possessed 
in  a  higher  degree  than  other  Britishers,  was  that  of  pride: 
"The  Welsh  are  very  proud  and  consider  themselves  far 
superior  to  other  Englishmen,  whom  they  look  on  as  an 
ignoble  mixture  of  Saxons,  Danes  and  Normans."  As  to  the 
appearance  of  the  people,  Kiittner  writes:^  "The  Southern 
Welshman  has  a  distinctive  build.  All  the  country  people 
are  short  and  stout  and  have  full  faces  radiant  with  health, 
and  blooming,  cherry-colored  cheeks.  Yet  they  seem  to  have 
less  animation  than  health;  on  the  contrary,  there  seems  to  be 
something  dull  and  serious  about  them." 

^  Elsewhere  Goede  broadens  this  assertion  on  the  authority  of  others : 
"  I  have  seen  none  of  the  largest  Welsh  cities,  but  I  have  been  assured  that  from 
them  the  traces  of  Welsh  nationality  have  almost  entirely  disappeared,  having 
been  replaced  by  English  customs  and  manners."    (ibid.,  p.  359.) 

2  ibid.,  p.  363. 

*  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  384. 

4  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  CX  (1792),  pt.  I,  p.  214. 

B  ibid. 


138 


Another  thing  which  Goede  observed  in  Wales^  was  an 
almost  insurmountable  shyness  toward  everything  foreign  and, 
in  particular,  toward  the  English,  who,  on  account  of  their 
pride,  were  objects  rather  of  hatred  than  of  envy.  In  their 
relations  with  the  Welsh  the  English  were  said  to  show  the 
same  attitude  and  to  arouse  the  same  feelings  which  caused 
such  serious  difficulties  with  their  subjects  in  Ireland  and  in 
the  Indies.  Such  observations  are  by  no  means  restricted 
to  Wales.  Frequent  are  the  references  to  the  enmity  existing 
between  the  English  and  the  Irish.  In  the  Merkur  for 
January,  1797,  we  read:^  "It  is  indescribable  with  what 
contempt  the  Irishman  is  treated  by  the  South  Britisher. 
To  give  a  single  instance,  no  Irish  fisherman  can  appear  on 
the  English  coast  without  exposing  himself  to  ill-treatment  of 
the  most  violent  nature.  The  filth  and  beggarliness  of  the 
Irish  is  the  subject  of  a  hundred  proverbs  among  the  English 
people,  and  yet  it  is  the  English  alone  who  have  so  crippled 
and  abased  the  Irish,  a  people  naturally  alert  and  vigorous  in 
body  and  mind."  On  the  attitude  of  the  Irish  Zimmermann 
has  an  interesting  comment:^  "The  English  have  constructed 
in  Ireland  .  .  .  smooth,  broad,  straight  highways;  but  the 
Irish  .  .  .,  on  account  of  their  imaginary  freedom,  could  not 
be  induced  to  use  these  far  superior  roads.  Too  obstinate  to 
find  good  in  anything  new,  they  proudly  continued  to  travel 
their  old,  crooked,  impassable  roads."  ^  Nor  did  the  tourist 
find  a  perfect  understanding  between  the  Scotch  and  the 
English.    A  reviewer  on  the  staff  of  the  Allgemeine  Liter a- 

1  England,  etc.    Vol.  V,  p.  359,  ff. 

2  p.  47.    Letter  from  London,  Nov.  17,  1796. 

3  Vom  Nationalstolze,  p.  119. 

^  Friedrich  von  Raumer  was  aroused  by  his  first-hand  acquaintance  with 
conditions  in  Ireland:  "Thank  heavens  I  am  back  in  England,  but  I  do  not 
return  as  I  left  it.  Yesterday  evening  as  my  steamer  was  sailing  from  Dublin, 
black  clouds  were  rising  on  the  battlefields  of  the  sky,  and  when  the  sun  shone 
through  here  and  there,  the  promontories  on  the  left  and  on  the  right  cast  their 
long  shadow  toward  England.  This  shadow  I  can  not  dispel;  it  has  cast  itself, 
^  in  my  spirit,  over  the  erstwhile  so  brilliant  image,  and — like  Lady  Macbeth's 
blood-stains — the  harder  I  try  to  rid  myself  of  it,  the  more  plainly  it  stands 
before  my  eyes."    {England.    3  Vols.    Leipzig,  1842.    Vol.  H,  p.  407.) 


139 


turzeitung^  agreed  with  a  certain  French  tourist  that  the 
English  of  those  times  in  their  prejudice  refused  to  recognize 
that  Scotland  had  made  any  progress  whatever  during  the 
preceding  century.  The  attitude  of  England  toward  Scotland 
is  brought  out  by  Schiller 

Es  kann  der  Britte  gegen  den  Schotten  nicht 
Gerecht  sein,  ist  ein  uralt  Wort. 

In  the  Merkur  for  February,  1797^,  this  point  is  again  the 
subject  of  comment:  "Even  yet  that  century-old  antipathy 
between  the  Scotch  and  the  English — or  the  North-British 
and  the  South-British,  as  they  prefer  to  be  called  since  the 
reunion — still  glimmers  secretly  and  bursts  into  bright  flames 
at  every  opportunity.  .  .  .  But  no  one  is  more  ticklish  and 
more  jealous  of  his  honor  than  the  Scotchman,  especially  when 
he  considers  himself  injured  by  the  English." 

As  for  the  Scotch,  their  sturdy  qualities  did  not  fail  to  win 
recognition.  As  soldiers  they  had  over  the  English  one  ad- 
vantage:^ ''The  Scotch  are  good  soldiers,  and  they  will  put 
up  with  poor  food.  When  they  go  hunting,  they  take  nothing 
along  except  a  little  bag  of  oatmeal  from  which  they  make  a 
dough  at  the  most  convenient  stream  of  water ;  and  this  they 
eat  with  good  appetite."  Toze  qualifies  his  praise  for  the 
Scotch  in  the  case  of  the  Highlanders:^  "The  Scots  are  tall 
and  well  made,  courteous  and  brave,  being  found  in  all  Euro- 
pean armies.  They  are  likewise  very  temperate  in  eating  and 
drinking,  not  departing  from  these  virtues  even  in  foreign 
countries,  where  bad  examples  are  set  them.  But  this  is 
chiefly  applicable  to  the  Lowlanders,  the  Highlanders  being 
extremely  different  from  them  in  their  way  of  living  and 
manners,  and,  like  their  country,  rough  and  wild." 

An  interesting  contrast  between  the  Scotch  and  the  German 
character  is  presented  in  connection  with  the  British  attitude 
toward  Kant's  philosophy.    In  this  attitude — as  in  everything 

1  1797.  Vol.  ly,  No.  314,  section  15.  Meine  Fussreise  durch  die  drei 
hrittischen  Konigreiche,  von  einem  franzosischen  Ofifizier.    Riga,  1797. 

2  Maria  Stuart.    Act  I,  scene  7  (Maria  to  Burleigh). 
2  p.  147.    Letter  from  Edinburgh,  Dec.  8,  1796. 

^  Berckenmeyer:  N euvermehrter  Curieuser  Antiqiiarius,  p.  225. 
5  The  Present  State  of  Europe.    Vol.  II,  p.  207. 


140 


bearing  on  the  foreign  opinion  of  things  German^ — the  German 
public  took  the  deepest  interest.  It  was  cleariy  recognized 
that  the  new  doctrines  found  much  more  fertile  soil  in  Scotland 
than  in  England,  but  even  in  the  former  country,  according  to 
one  German  who  was  on  the  scene,  the  reception  of  Kant  was 
none  too  enthusiastic ''Although  Scotland  has  much  in 
common  with  Northern  Germany,  even  in  the  mental  attitude 
of  the  people,  still  I  found  one  great  difference.  Scotland 
must  have  something  objective,  something  substantial,  if  it 
is  to  go  into  raptures  over  a  new  school  or  a  new  dogma ;  the 
German,  on  the  other  hand,  as  gudgeons  and  other  voracious 
fish,  snaps  at  every  bait,  even  if  it  be  only  a  shadow,  provided 
the  thing  have  the  appearance  of  something  adventurous  or 
new." 

The  intellectual  culture  of  Scotland  was  assigned  a  high 
place,  though  Archenholz,  like  Toze,  reminds  us  that^  "the 
state  of  civilization  in  the  Scottish  mountains  has  never  been 
— and  is  not  yet — at  all  comparable  with  the  civilization  in 
the  plains  of  this  country;  so  that  there  prevails  among  the 
Highlanders  a  roughness  bordering  on  savagery."  Very  high 
rating  was  given  to  the  seats  of  learning.  Biisch  saw  great 
similarity  between  them  and  the  German  universities  and 
declared  that  they  stood  in  even  higher  esteem  than  the  latter.^ 
On  Wendeborn,  too,  they  created  a  very  favorable  impression:^ 
"In  so  far  as  I  know  the  Scotch  universities,  they  turn  out  at 
present,  in  proportion  to  the  number  [of  students],  far  better 
trained  men  than  those  of  England,  where  so  many  years  are 
required  to  obtain  a  rather  pedantic  and  monkish  education 
and  which  the  majority  leave,  when  their  hair  is  beginning  to 
turn  gray,  without  having  become  extraordinarily  learned. 
The  young  people  enter  the  Scotch  universities  far  better 
prepared  than  the  wild  boys  who  go  from  the  Episcopal  schools 
of  England  to  Oxford  or  Cambridge."  In  this  writer's 
opinion  the  clergymen  of  Scotland  also  surpassed  those  of 

1  See  above,  p.  45  ff. 
>     2  Merkur,  August,  1798,  p.  399  (Letter  from  Edinburgh,  June  8,  1798). 
^  Annalen  .  .  .  des  Jahres  1793-    Vol.  XI,  p.  341.    Hamburg,  I79S- 
<  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  LXXIII  (1787).  Pt.  I,  p.  228. 
s  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  IV,  p.  342. 


141 


England:^  "The  Scotch  clergy  is  very  different  in  character 
from  the  English.  In  liberal  knowledge  as  well  as  in  every- 
thing that  goes  by  the  name  of  theology  they  are,  at  least  at 
present — especially  in  the  case  of  the  latter — very  superior; 
and  for  twenty  years  Scotland  has  been  able  to  point  to  more 
famous  authors  among  its  divines  than  England."  Further- 
more, as  we  learn  from  the  same  source ,2  "the  preachers  in 
Scotland  are  more  polite,  more  sociable  and  more  affable  in 
their  intercourse  than  the  majority  in  England.  They  are 
hospitable,  but  their  income  necessitates  their  living  somewhat 
frugally."  Still  more  striking,  though  of  an  altogether  dif- 
ferent nature,  was  the  contrast  between  the  Irish  and  the 
English  clergy.  The  prebends  in  Ireland  were  especially 
liberal,  and  members  of  the  leading  Irish  families  filled  the 
more  important  offices  of  the  church.^  "An  Irish  bishop 
continually  reminds  us  of  his  worldly  title  (prince  and  duke), 
takes  part  in  all  the  pleasures  of  life,  goes  riding  early  in  the 
morning  with  the  party  of  which  he  happens  to  be  a  member, 
drinks  in  the  afternoon  at  toast  as  the  others  and  plays  [for 
stakes]  in  the  evening  with  the  rest  of  the  company.  The 
Englishman,  on  the  other  hand,  is  serious,  reserved,  more 
guarded  in  his  conversation,  full  of  ecclesiastical  dignity." 

Although  the  praise  for  English  women  usually  exhausted 
the  German's  stock  of  superlatives,  there  was  one  contributor 
to  the  Merkur  whose  belief  it  was  that  the  women  of  Scotland 
were  even  more  generously  endowed  by  nature:^  "Scotland, 
what  beauties  it  has!  How  Ossian  in  his  time  sang  of  the 
fair  maiden  of  his  love,  of  the  blush  of  spring  in  her  cheeks! 
Even  today  how  great  is  the  astonishment  of  the  Englishman — 
who  certainly  has  beautiful  countrywomen — when  he  goes  to 
Scotland!"  Ireland  likewise  was  said  to  rival  England  in  this 
respect:^  "The  Irish  girls  and  women  are  quite  as  pretty  as 

1  ibid.,  Vol.  III.  p.  235. 

2  p.  236. 

^Kiittner's  Beitr age.  .  von  Eng.  N.  A.  d.  B.  Vol.  XXIX  (1797),  pt.  2, 
p.  411 — Kiittner's  Brief e  iiber  Irrland  an  seinen  Freund,  den  Herausgeher. 
Leipzig,  1785.    A.  L.  Z.  (1785),  Vol.  Ill,  No.  154,  pp.  8-12. 

^  March,  1788.    p.  332. 

^  Gottingisches  Historisches  Magazin.    Vol.  I  (1787),  pt.  i,  p.  158. 


142 


the  English,  but  much  more  vivacious  and  more  skilled  in 
dancing,  drawing  and  conversation." 

Ireland — even  more  than  Wales  and  Scotland — was  a  coun- 
try seldom  visited  by  foreigners,^  and  it  is  extremely  doubtful 
if  any  continental  Europeans  were  sufficiently  well  acquainted 
with  the  Irish  to  form  an  accurate  opinion  of  their  character. 
The  general  impression  was  that  they  were  an  easy-going, 
care-free,  irresponsible  people — "Der  Irlander  folgt  des 
Gliickes  Stern"  ^ — and  the  lower  classes,  in  particular,  were 
considered  extremely  indolent  and  perhaps  even  more  un- 
civilized than  was  really  the  case.  This  nation  Berckenmeyer 
dismisses  with  the  following  learned  observation :^  "The  belief 
is  that  the  Irish  of  the  present  day  are  either  thoroughly  good 
or  totally  depraved  and  that  the  bad  ones  could  not  possibly 
be  worse  nor  the  good  ones  better."  A  slightly  more  plausible 
view- point  is  reached  by  Toze:^  ''Among  the  Irish  there  is 
rather  greater  difference  than  among  the  Scotch.  Some  have 
admitted  the  English  laws  and  customs,  and  these  are  civilized 
and  well-behaved  people;  but  the  others  retain  their  old 
customs  and  ways;  which,  not  being  without  some  mixture  of 
barbarism,  are  by  the  English  known  by  the  appellation  of 
Wild  Irish." 

In  the  first  issue  of  the  Gottingisches  Historisches  Magazin 
we  read:^  "The  common  man  is  indolent  in  the  extreme  and 
quite  addicted  to  drunkenness;  nowhere  are  beggars  more 
numerous  or  more  impudent  than  in  Dublin."  And  in  the 
Merkur  for  July,  1797,^  we  read  that  it  is  doubtful  if  there 
could  be  a  more  abandoned  populace  than  that  of  Ireland,  and 
as  for  Irish  seamen,  they  are  termed  "an  undisciplined  gang 
of  abominable  blood-hounds." 

From  Nemnich  we  have  a  view  of  the  economic  situation  in 
Ireland  as  he  found  it  at  the  end  of  the  century:^  "According 

1  A.  d.  B.    Vol.  LXV  (1786),  pt.  II,  p.  493. 

2  Schiller:  Wallensieins  Lager,  scene  ii. 

3  Neuvermehrter  Curieuser  Aniiquarius,  p.  233. 

4  The  Present  State  of  Europe.    Vol.  II,  p.  207. 
6  Vol.  I  (1787).  pt.  I.  P-  157- 

6  p.  288. 

^  Neueste  Reise,  etc.,  p.  607. 


143 


to  many  accounts  Ireland  possesses  in  various  regions  the  most 
valuable  mineral  products.  But  the  yield  from  these  sources 
is  almost  negligible.  There  is  in  the  first  place  a  lack  of 
necessary  fuel  and  of  sufficient  capital.  Furthermore,  it  seems 
that  a  spirit  of  enterprise  and  industry  is  less  prevalent  than 
laziness  and  frivolity;  or  perhaps  the  oppression  has  as  yet 
allowed  nothing  of  the  former  kind  to  come  to  light.  Every- 
thing that  is  undertaken  or  promoted  on  anything  like  an 
extensive  scale  is  usually  backed  by  Scotchmen  or  Englishmen 
who  come  over  with  speculations  and  money;  of  which  the 
former  often  miscarry  and  the  latter  is  entirely  lost." 

No  early  improvement  of  these  conditions  was  anticipated  by 
Wendeborn:^  "The  Irish  people  are  inert,  for  the  most  part  in 
abject  poverty  and  so  accustomed  to  oppression  from  the 
aristocracy  of  their  own  country  that  it  will  reqiiire  at  least 
a  half  century  and  ten  Swifts  to  awaken  them  from  their 
lethargy,  to  make  them  see  their  own  interests  and  take 
advantage  of  the  rights  which  nature  conceded  them  and  which 
.  .  .  were  ratified  by  the  British  Parliament." 

1  Zustand,  etc.    Vol.  I,  p.  215. 


11 


CONCLUSION. 


The  foregoing  pages  establish  above  all  one  fact;  that 
eighteenth  century  Germans  in  general  had  marked  admiration 
for  everything  English.  With  the  single  exception  of  Andreas 
Riem,  who  is  in  every  respect  an  anomaly,  no  German  visitor 
to  England  seems  to  have  escaped  altogether  the  general 
anglomania.  On  the  one  hand  Wendeborn  enjoys  the  dis- 
tinction of  having  resisted  most  successfully  the  prevalent 
blindness  to  British  failings,  and  on  the  other,  Biischel  in  his 
anglomania  goes  to  the  greatest  lengths;  according  to  him, 
the  very  name  England  was  music  to  German  ears.^  Baron 
Riesbeck,  who  attempted  to  palm  off  his  Travels  through 
Germany  as  a  French  work,  in  spite  of  his  French  disguise 
presents — and  represents — the  usual  German  attitude "I 
was  not  surprised  to  find  the  present  war  much  the  subject  of 
conversation  throughout  the  whole  of  my  tour.  The  nation 
take[s]  a  natural  concern  in  it,  both  on  account  of  the  troops 
they  let  out  and  from  their  having  been  several  centuries 
very  war-like  themselves.  No  wonder  that  under  such  cir- 
cumstances more  than  a  hundred  newspapers  should  not  be 
sufficient  to  satisfy  their  hunger  after  news.  But  what  I 
cannot  readily  explain,  is  the  amazing  partiality  of  the  Ger- 
mans for  the  English.  You  hardly  meet  with  one  German 
out  of  a  hundred  who  is  on  our  side.  The  Mecklenburghers 
especially  have  a  fondness  and  veneration  for  our  enemies 
that  approaches  superstition.  I  was  in  many  places  where 
they  gave  little  fetes  whenever  the  god  with  two  trumpets, 
one  before  and  the  other  behind,  spread  reports  favorable  to 
the  English.  It  is  true  indeed  that  there  is  something  great 
in  the  heroic  deeds  and  character  of  the  English  which  leads 
the  opinion  of  mankind  towards  them." 

1  Neue  Reisen,  etc.,  p.  8. 

2  Riesbeck,  Johann  Caspar:  Travels  through  Germany.  (Maty's  translation.) 
Vol.  III.  p.  73. 

144 


145 


On  certain  points  the  unanimity  of  opinion  is  striking.  It 
may  be  worth  while  to  sum  up  the  most  important  of  these 
and  to  call  attention  again  to  certain  others,  which,  though 
sometimes  bones  of  contention,  at  least  come  in  regularly  for 
the  consideration  of  eighteenth  century  German  writers  on 
England.  Without  exception  the  tourists  were  favorably  im- 
pressed by  England's  economic  prosperity,  by  the  fertility 
and  natural  beauty  of  the  country,  by  the  good  roads,  the 
splendid  horses  and  carriages  and  the  comfortable  inns — 
English  comfort  is  a  frequently  recurring  phrase  which  the 
writers  confess  their  inability  to  express  in  German.  There 
were  just  two  objections  to  the  inns,  both  of  them  rather 
serious,  it  must  be  admitted;  the  food  was,  at  first,  not  to  the 
foreigner's  liking,  and  both  landlord  and  servant  made  the 
heaviest  demands  on  his  purse.  Great  was  the  newcomer's 
delight,  however,  at  the  expediency  and  efficiency  with  which 
everything  was  done;  nothing,  in  fact,  was  more  remarkable 
to  Lichtenberg  than  this.  Hotel  proprietors,  shop-keepers, 
manufacturers,  made  every  effort  to  please  the  public,  and, 
though  the  complaints  of  profiteering  were  frequent,  it  was  the 
source  of  no  little  satisfaction  that  the  man  whose  means  were 
not  too  limited  could  have  his  every  demand  fulfilled.  And 
London,  despite  its  unattractive  appearance,  seemed  to  have 
peculiar  charms  for  German  visitors;  at  any  rate,  they  never 
tired  of  the  city's  varied  life.  As  for  the  English  themselves, 
they  appeared  to  enjoy  a  higher  degree  of  physical  well-being 
than  people  of  other  nations;  even  the  paupers  were  not 
entirely  excluded  from  the  advantages  of  the  general  pros- 
perity. The  Englishman  was  usually  described  as  of  attrac- 
tive appearance,  well-groomed,  a  stickler  for  cleanliness  in 
dress  and  surroundings  and,  in  the  upper  classes,  at  least,  a 
slave  of  fashion. 

In  the  cultural  life,  the  universal  interest  in  everything 
that  concerned  the  national  welfare  was  observed  by  all  tour- 
ists of  discernment.  It  was  found  to  be  easier  to  engage  an 
Englishman  in  conversation  on  politics  than  on  any  other 
subject;  in  this  one  field  even  the  man  of  the  most  marked 
mental  limitations  showed  surprising  intelligence.    To  most 


146 


German  visitors,  especially  to  Albrecht  von  Haller,  the  English 
form  of  government  seemed  admirable.  The  position  of  the 
King — free  to  benefit  but  not  to  harm  his  people — was  usually 
regarded  as  ideal ;  and  the  rulers  were  praised  for  their  modesty 
and  lack  of  ostentation.  In  their  visits  to  Parliament,  it 
must  be  said,  German  tourists  were  frequently  more  attentive 
to  externalities  than  to  the  questions  under  discussion  and  the 
methods  of  solving  the  problems  of  government;  only  those 
who  resided  long  in  England  were  able  to  arrive  at  a  real 
appreciation  of  the  political  life.  As  to  the  advantages  of  the 
legal  system,  there  was  little  difference  of  opinion,  although 
the  view  was  frequently  expressed  that  the  death-sentence 
was  too  freely  imposed,  that  the  most  trivial  offences  were 
punished  with  the  same  severity  as  the  most  horrible  crimes. 
In  the  field  of  religion,  it  was  English  tolerance  that  made  the 
deepest  impression  on  the  foreigners,  who  also  on  this  point 
seem  to  be  well  agreed. 

For  the  educational  system,  particularly  for  the  universities, 
the  praise  was  scant,  though  Scotch  Universities  were  held  in 
somewhat  higher  esteem  than  those  of  England.  But  despite 
this,  all  writers  agreed  as  to  the  high  state  of  learning  in 
nearly  all  branches;  intellectual  culture  was  said  to  be  more 
general  and  to  extend  much  further  down  the  social  scale  in 
England  than  elsewhere.  For  English  literature  enthusiasm 
had  become  almost  unbounded  by  the  last  third  of  the  cen- 
tury, but  in  none  of  the  fine  arts  were  the  English  admitted 
to  be  leaders,  unless  landscape-gardening  be  elevated  to  the 
dignity  of  a  fine  art.  For  leadership  in  this  field  England  was 
given  full  credit  not  only  in  Germany,  but  all  over  Europe. 
Englishmen  of  means  were  praised  for  their  liberality  in 
promoting  all  efforts  toward  the  advancement  of  the  arts. 
Accordingly,  though  creative  genius  was  rare,  England's  con- 
tribution to  art  was  considered  quite  notable. 

Unmitigated  praise  was  given  to  the  home  and  family  life. 
Around  the  home  everything  seemed  to  center;  the  English- 
man was  above  all  else  a  domestic  creature.  The  relationship 
between  parents  and  children,  though  it  struck  the  casual 
observer  as  being  rather  cold  and  formal,  was  usually  described 


147 


as  ideal.  Children  were  encouraged  at  an  early  age  to  think 
for  themselves  and  were  allowed  to  learn  the  lessons  of  life, 
as  much  as  possible,  from  their  own  experience.  But  despite 
the  freedom  they  enjoyed,  they  were  generally  respectful  of 
parental  authority.  It  was  frequently  observed  that  parents 
seldom  found  it  necessary  to  resort  to  corporal  punishment  in 
rearing  their  children,  even  among  the  lower  classes;  the  same 
condition  did  not  prevail  in  Germany,  if  we  may  rely  on  such 
authorities  as  the  clergymen  Moritz  and  Wendeborn.  That 
the  English  were  hospitable  toward  their  own  people  is  not 
questioned,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  foreigner  was  none  too 
hospitably  received.  Germans  who  were  very  much  at  home 
in  England — for  instance,  Georg  Forster  and  Lichtenberg — 
attempt  to  refute  this  charge,  but  all  writers  mention  the 
Englishman's  indifference  toward  foreigners  and  his  inclination 
to  hold  in  contempt  everything  of  foreign  origin.  Even  to 
such  admirers  as  Haller,  Zimmermann  and  Goede  the  English 
appear  too  self-centered  and  provincial  to  appreciate  the 
merits  of  other  peoples. 

In  the  individual  Englishman  the  most  marked  traits — 
those  invariably  recognized — were  the  love  of  freedom  and  the 
national  pride.  The  former,  an  inevitable  outcome  of  demo- 
cracy, led  to  a  disregard  of  public  opinion,  which,  in  extreme 
cases,  prompted  an  exaggeration  of  personal  peculiarities  and 
a  studied  attempt  to  appear  odd  and  whimsical.  At  the  same 
time  this  freedom  was  the  source  of  the  Englishman's  self- 
reliance  and  independence  of  thought,  for  which  the  foreigner 
could  not  fail  to  admire  him.  As  for  the  national  pride,  the 
visitor  would  have  been  blind  indeed  who  failed  to  observe  it. 
The  proud  Briton  was  a  very  common  phrase,  as  it  still  is, 
with  German  writers.  They  did  not,  however,  consider  the 
Britisher  personally  vain,  but  more  or  less  justly  proud  of  his 
nationality;  and  this  trait  they  held  up  to  their  fellow- 
countrymen  for  emulation.  It  was  from  the  English  that 
Germans  learned  many  of  their  early  lessons  in  patriotism. 

Of  the  virtues  of  the  British  none  was  more  frequently 
mentioned  than  their  benevolence  and  generosity,  as  mani- 
fested in  part  by  the  numerous  charitable  institutions  and 


148 


societies  for  the  relief  of  the  needy.  The  use  which  was  made 
of  wealth  was,  in  fact,  frequently  held  to  redeem  the  com- 
mercialistic  spirit  and  greed  for  gain  with  which  the  English 
were  charged. 

As  to  the  frankness  and  honesty  of  the  Britisher  German 
writers  were  likewise  agreed.  The  frankness  frequently 
amounted  to  a  repelling  brusqueness,  but  in  the  long  run  it 
won  the  commendation  of  all.  That  the  Britisher  was  fair 
and  honest  in  all  his  dealings  was  universally  recognized;  nor 
was  he  so  from  policy,  but  rather  on  account  of  his  high  sense 
of  honor.  Archenholz  comments  on  the  abhorrence  of 
hypocrisy,  and  Moritz  makes  the  significant  observation  that 
the  Englishman  considered  it  the  greatest  possible  insult  to  be 
called  a  liar.  That  the  British  were  more  courageous  than 
other  peoples  was  likewise  a  general  belief;  on  account  of  their 
bravery  the  Scotch,  especially,  were  said  to  be  excellent 
soldiers.  The  fortitude  with  which  the  condemned  man  under- 
went his  sentence  and  the  frequency  of  suicide  were  often 
taken  as  proof  of  an  unusual  fearlessness  of  death. 

Not  infrequently  was  the  Englishman  branded  as  merciless 
and  cruel.  That  such  an  opinion  had  long  been  prevalent 
on  the  Continent  is  established  by  the  fact  that  various  writers, 
including  Pollnitz  and  Bielfeld,  who  visited  England  in  the 
first  half  of  the  century,  took  pains  to  refute  it.  The  opinion 
was  based  chiefly  on  two  points:  the  severity  with  which  the 
death-sentence  was  executed  and  the  enthusiasm,  especially 
among  the  lower  classes,  for  brutal  sports  and  amusements. 
These  points  were  not  to  be  explained  away,  but  the  individual, 
as  always,  was  found  to  be  superior  to  the  mob,  and  this 
cruelty,  like  a  number  of  the  other  faults  commonly  attributed 
to  the  Britisher,  was  generally  regarded  as  no  inherent  part 
of  his  nature,  but  rather  as  a  thing  of  the  surface,  which  arose 
from  environment  and  tradition. 

One  side  of  the  Englishman's  nature  which  is  discussed  by  all 
visitors  is  his  lack  of  sociability  and  his  melancholy  tempera- 
ment. There  is  no  doubt  that  he  usually  impressed  the 
foreigner  as  being  cold,  reserved  and  over-serious.  Especially 
general  was  this  impression  early  in  the  century.    Later  on, 


149 


as  the  result  of  better  acquaintance,  this  view  underwent  an 
appreciable  change.  Those  Germans  who  were  best  ac- 
quainted with  the  Englishman,  such  as  Forster  and  Kiittner, 
found  him  as  sociable  and  warm-hearted,  once  the  cold 
exterior  was  penetrated,  as  any  other  man,  and  all  agreed — 
notably,  Wendeborn  and  Volkmann — that  it  was  well  worth 
while  to  cultivate  the  EngHshman's  friendship,  for,  once 
acquired,  it  could  be  relied  upon  through  thick  and  thin. 

Above  all  else  there  was  one  important  underlying  character- 
istic of  British  life  that  won  German  admiration — the  devotion 
to  nature,  the  consequent  naturalness  and  the  comparative 
lack  of  artificiality.  Here  Wendeborn  is  the  leading  German 
exponent  of  English  culture ;  his  writings  teem  with  admiration 
for  this  aspect  of  the  national  life,  and  in  this  he  is  by  no  means 
alone.  On  every  hand  the  principle  manifests  itself.  As  for 
English  landscape-gardening,  Volkmann  speaks  of  it  as  ''the 
art  of  converting  every  spot  into  a  beautiful  portrait  of 
nature."  ^  In  his  restricted  praise  of  the  Englishman's  educa- 
tional system  Wendeborn  describes  the  chief  merit  as  follows 
"He  loves  nature,  he  will  not  allow  art  to  destroy  any  of  her 
works.  This  very  trait  is  the  cause  of  the  Englishman's 
attaining  most  nearly  to  the  real  .  .  .  destiny  of  man."  In 
regard  to  literature  Goethe  exclaims:^  "Nature,  nature!  what 
is  more  nature  than  Shakespeare's  plays?"  And  it  was 
through  its  imitation  of  nature  that  English  literature  made 
its  chief  appeal  to  the  German  mind.  Again  we  hear  from 
Wendeborn,  regarding  the  women  of  England:^  "They  are 
more  natural  [than  those  of  other  countries]  and,  accordingly, 
more  pleasing  and  captivating."  About  the  social  life,  too, 
there  was  little  artificiality,  and  this  was  likewise  the  subject 
of  favorable  comment,^  though  Forster  is  to  be  mentioned 
here  as  an  important  exception.  In  short,  in  all  the  relations 
of  life  the  English  appeared  natural — another  result  of  their 

^  See  above,  p.  37. 

2  See  above,  p.  49. 

3  "Zum  Shakespeare's  Tag."  Werke.  Weimar  Ed.  Vol.  XXXVII,  p.  130. 
See  above,  p.  43. 

^  See  above,  p.  134. 
5  See  above,  p.  61,  ff. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


The  following  list  includes  only  those  sources  that  have  been 
most  freely  used  in  the  preparation  of  the  preceding  pages. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  books  treating  of  the  contact 
between  Germany  and  England  in  the  eighteenth  century,  the 
modern  works  consulted  have  been  omitted  altogether,  as  well 
as  all  works  of  imaginative  literature  and,  in  general,  well- 
known  works  to  which  only  occasional  reference  is  made. 
Such  sources  are  cited  fully  in  the  foot-notes  referring  to  them. 

As  stated  in  the  introduction,  certain  works  were  obtainable 
only  in  English  translations.  Of  these  only  the  English  titles 
appear  below. 

1.  Achenwall,  Gottfried:  Staatsverfassung  der  heutigen  vor- 

mehmsten  Europaischen  Reiche.  7th  ed.  2  pts.  in 
I  Vol.    Gottingen,  1790-98. 

2.  von  Archenholz,  J.  W. :  A  Picture  of  England,  translated 

from  the  French.    2  Vols,  in  i.    London,  1789. 

3.  Allgemeine  deutsche  Bibliothek.    118  Vols.  hrsg.  von  F. 

Nicolai.  Berlin  and  Stettin,  1765-92;  hrsg.  von  C.  E. 
Bohm.    Kiel,  1792-96. 

4.  Allgemeine  Literaturzeitung.    208  Vols.    Halle,  1785- 

1849. 

5.  Annalen  der  brittischen  Geschichte  des  Jahres  (!)  1788-96, 

als  eine  Fortsetzung  des  Werks  England  und  Italien. 
hrsg.  von  J.  W.  von  Archenholz.  20  Vols.  Vol.  I, 
Braunschweig;  Vols.  I I-X I,  Hamburg;  Vols.  XII-XX, 
Tubingen. 

6.  Beckmann,  J.:  Literatur  der  alteren  Reisebeschreibungen. 

Gottingen,  1809. 

7.  Berckenmeyer,  P.  L. :   Neuvermehrter  Curieuser  Anti- 

quarius.    6th  ed.    Hamburg,  1731. 

8.  Bernoulli,  Johann:  Sammlung  kurzer  Reisebeschreibun- 

gen.   16  Vols.    Berlin,  1781-85. 

152 


153 


9-  Bibliothek  der  schonen  Wissenschaften  und  der  freyen 
Kiinste.    12  Vols.    Leipzig,  1757-65. 

10.  von  Bielfeld,  Jakob  Friedrich:  Letters  of  Baron  Bielfeld, 

translated  from  the  German  by  Mr.  Hooper.  4  Vols. 
London, 1768-70. 

11.  Biischel,  J.  G.  B.:  Neue  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  nach  und 

in  England  im  Jahre  1783.  Ein  Pendant  zu  des  Herrn 
Professor  Moritz'  Reisen.    Berlin,  1784. 

12.  Busching,  A.  P.:    Neue  Erdbeschreibung.  Hamburg, 

1769-73  (An  earlier  edition,  translated  into  English, 
A  New  System  of  Geography.  6  Vols.  London, 
1762). 

13.  Die  deutsche  Monatsschrift.    BerHn,  1790-94;  Leipzig, 

1795-99- 

14.  Deutsches  Museum.    26  Vols.    Leipzig,  1776-88. 

15.  Forster,  Georg:  Briefwechsel,  nebst  einigen  Nachrichten 

von  seinem  Leben.  hrsg.  von  Th.  Z.  geb.  Z.  2  Vols. 
Leipzig,  1829. 

16.  Forster,  Georg:   Sammtliche  Schriften.    9  Vols,  in  5. 

Leipzig,  1843. 

17.  von  Gentz,  Frederick:  On  the  State  of  Europe  before  and 

after  the  French  Revolution,  trans,  from  the  German 
by  John  Charles  Herries.    London,  1802. 

18.  Goede,  C.  A.  G. :  England,  Wales,  Ir[e]land  und  Schott- 

land.    2nd  ed.    5  Vols.    Dresden,  1806. 

19.  Gottingisches  historisches  Magazin  von  E.  Meiners  und 

L.  T.  Spittler.    8  Vols.    Hanover,  1787-91. 

20.  von  Haller,  Albrecht:  The  Moderate  Monarchy,  or  Prin- 

ciples of  the  British  Constitution  described  in  a  Narra- 
tive of  the  Life  and  Maxims  of  Alfred  the  Great  and  his 
Counsellors,  translated  from  the  German  [of  Alfred, 
Konig  der  Angel-Sachsen,  written  1773]  by  Francis 
Steinitz.    London,  1849. 

21.  von  Haller,  Albrecht:   Tagebiicher  seiner  Reisen  nach 

Deutschland,  Holland  und  England  1723-27,  hrsg.  von 
Ludwig  Hirzel.    Leipzig,  1883. 


154 


22.  Hirschfeld,  C.  C.  L. :  Anmerkungen  iiber  die  Landhauser 

und  die  Gartenkunst.    Leipzig,  1773. 

23.  Hirschfeld,  C.  C.  L.:  Theorie  der  Gartenkunst.    5  Vols. 

Leipzig,  1779-85- 

24.  Jacobi,  J.  G.:  Sammtliche  Werke.    4  Vols.    Zurich,  1825. 

25.  von  Kielmansegge,  Count  Frederick:  Diary  of  a  Journey- 

to  England  in  the  years  1761-62,  trans,  from  the  ms. 
by  Countess  Kielmansegg.  London,  New  York  and 
Bombay,  1902. 

26.  Klinger,  F.  M.:    Betrachtungen  und  Gedanken  iiber 

verschiedene  Gegenstande  der  Welt  und  der  Literatur. 
Sammtliche  Werke.  12  Vols,  in  6.  Vol.  XI,  pt.  L 
Stuttgart  und  Tubingen,  1842. 

27.  Kiittner,  K.  G.:   Beitrage  zur  Kenntnis  vorziiglich  des 

gegenwartigen  Zustandes  von  Frankreich  und  Holland 
.  .  .  aus  den  Briefen  eines  in  England  wohnenden 
Deutschen.    Leipzig,  1792. 

28.  Lichtenberg,  G.  C:  Briefe,  hrsg.  von  Albert  Leitzmann 

und  Carl  Schiiddekopf.    3  Vols.    Leipzig,  1901. 

29.  Lichtenberg,  G.  C:  Gedanken,  Satiren,  Fragmente,  hrsg. 

von  W.  Herzog.    2  Vols.    Jena,  1907. 

30.  Lichtenberg,   G.   C:    Vermischte  Schriften.    8  Vols. 

Gottingen,  1844. 

31.  Magazin  von  merkwiirdigen  neuen  Reisebeschreibungen, 

aus  fremden  Sprachen  iibersetzt.  33  Vols.  Berlin, 
1790-. 

32.  Mead,  W.  E. :  The  Grand  Tour  in  the  eighteenth  Century. 

Boston  and  New  York,  191 4. 

33.  Minerva,  ein  Journal  historischen  und  politischen  Inhalts, 

hrsg.  von  J.  W.  von  Archenholz.  Berlin,  1792; 
Hamburg,  1792-18 12  (Quarterly). 

34.  Moritz,  K.  P.:  Reisen  eines  Deutschen  in  England  im 

Jahre  1782,  hrsg.  von  Otto  zur  Linde;  in  Deutsche 
Literaturdenkmale  des  18.  und  19.  Jahrhunderts.  Vol. 
126.  Berlin,  1903. 

35.  Moser,  Justus:   Sammtliche  Werke.    6  pts.  in  3  Vols. 

Berlin,  1842-43. 


155 


36.  Nemnich,  P.  A.:  Neueste  Reisen  durch  England,  Schott- 

land  und  Ir[e]land,  hauptsachlich  in  bezug  auf  Produkte, 
Fabriken  und  Handlung.    Tubingen,  1807. 

37.  Neue  Allgemeine  deutsche  Bibliothek,  hrsg.  von  C.  E. 

Bohn  und  C.  F.  Nicolai.    107  Vols.    Kiel,  1793-1806. 

38.  Neues  Gottingisches  historisches  Magazin  von  C.  Meiners 

und  L.  T.  Spittler.    3  Vols.    Hanover,  1792-94. 

39.  Pollnitz,  Karl  Ludwig:  The  Memoirs  of  Charles-Lewis, 

Baron  de  Pollnitz,  translated  from  the  German  by 
Stephen  Whatley.    5  Vols.    Dublin,  1738. 

40.  Riesbeck,  Johann  Caspar:   Travels  through  Germany, 

translated  from  the  German  by  Paul  H.  Maty.  3  Vols. 
London,  1787.    (Vol.  2  of  original  ed.,  1783.) 

41.  Schaible,  K.  H.:  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  in  England 

von  den  ersten  germanischen  Ansiedlungen  in  Britan- 
nien  bis  zum  Ende  des  achtzehnten  Jahrhunderts. 
Strassburg,  1885. 

42.  Smith,  Edward:  Foreign  Visitors  in  England,  and  what 

they  have  thought  of  us;  being  some  Notes  on  their 
Books  and  their  opinions  during  the  last  three  Centuries. 
London, 1889. 

43.  Der  teutsche  Merkur  (also,  Der  Neue  teutsche  Merkur), 

hrsg.  von  C.  M.  Wieland.  115  Vols,  in  70.  Weimar, 
1773-1806. 

44.  Toze,  M.  E.:  The  Present  State  of  Europe,  translated 

from  the  German  by  Thos.  Nugent.  3  Vols.  London, 
1770  (German  ed.,  1767). 

45.  von  Uffenbach,  Z.  C. :  Merkwiirdige  Reisen  durch  Nieder- 

sachsen,  Holland  und  Engelland.  3  Vols.  Ulm  und 
Memmingen,  1753-54. 

46.  von  Vincke,  L. :    Darstellung  der  innern  Verwaltung 

Grossbritanniens,  hrsg.  von  G.  B.  Niebuhr.  Berlin, 
1 81 5  (written  1808). 

47.  Volkmann,  J.  J.:  Neueste  Reisen  durch  England,  vor- 

ziiglich  in  Absicht  auf  die  Kunstsammlungen,  Natur- 
geschichte,  Oekonomie,  Manufacturen  und  Landsitze 
der  Grossen.    4  Vols.    Leipzig,  1781-83. 


156 


48.  Wendeborn,  G.  F.  A.:  Erinnerungen  aus  seinem  Leben, 

hrsg.  von  C.  D.  Ebeling.    Hamburg,  1813. 

49.  Wendeborn,  G.  F.  A.:  Der  Zustand  des  Staats,  der  Relig- 

ion, der  Gelehrsamkeit  und  der  Kunst  in  Grossbritan- 
nien  gegen  das  Ende  des  achtzehnten  Jahrhunderts. 
4  Vols.    Berlin,  1784-88. 

50.  Zimmermann,  J.   G.:    Vom   Nationalstolze.    4th  ed., 

Zurich,  1768  (trans,  into  English  by  Samuel  H.  Wil- 
cocke:  "Essay  on  National  Pride."    New  York,  1799). 


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